It is already on WMUR's website but here is the scoop.
I got off shift at 6am this morning with the Rindge Fire Dept. I was supposed to be on the road for Berlin but things changed quick.
Around noon this morning I was turning in my dept issued gear. While handing in my gear, the dept was toned for a poss. drowning/person fallen through the ice 500' from shore. I looked at the officer (the only other fire fighter there) and said get in the suit and I will drive. We got to the scene to find a woman about 500' from shore and there were two canoes out there as well that she was holding onto. My officer was the first on the ice and I was suiting up myself. I made it 50' from shore and the ice started to crack. I am 220 + all the gear I had on. My partner was out to her and I made it out as well but went through the ice. We got her up into one of the canoes. I swam beside the canoe breaking the ice to make it easier to pull the canoe. The ice finally go thick enough that I was able to get back up on the ice and drag the canoe while my partner pushed.
Just as we got to shore, I got dizzy and felt ill. My Lt. looked at me and told me I had to go get checked out in the ambulance. They looked at me and said you are going. While en route to the hospital I vomitted copias amounts of fluid. That bought me an IV and a 1,000 bag of saline. I was in the hospital for observation for about an hour or two but am back out.
This woman was trying to save her dog. She admitted to knowing better because she is a water rescue trainer!
Goes to show you that the ice might look good, but it still is a little early to venture far from shore.
