Masscshusetts Firefighters Save Dog on Icy Pond

Here's some great video of what makes firefighters great.

Hingham, Massachusetts firefighters responded to a park Friday to save a dog who fell through ice. The dog was on a leash, according to the report, but pulled away from the woman walking him. One firefighter was transported to an area hospital.

Video posted on YouTube by user AngryJournalist

Related:

Boston Globe: Dog rescued after falling through ice in Hingham
A firefighter became exhausted and required medical treatment after helping to rescue a dog that fell through the ice in Hingham Harbor this morning, a close call that prompted officials to urge people to keep their dogs leashed when near ice-covered bodies of water.

Boston Channel: Firefighters Rescue Dog That Falls Through Ice
A Hingham firefighter had to be taken to the hospital Friday after rescuing a dog that fell through thin ice.

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Permalink Reply by BillySFCVFD on February 10, 2009 at 5:29pm

Isn't a donkey and a jackass the same or at least close? TCSS

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Permalink Reply by Ray on February 10, 2009 at 5:57pm

I just took a ice/water rescue clas and we were pulled in by FFs on shore/out of water everytime. The rescuer shouldnt have had to swim back he should have been easily pulled back by his lifeline without struggle with the dog right along side him. But none the less, props to the rescuers and way to show dedication. Sometimes we may not get the pat on the back we need but look at it this way, there are alot of ppl that DO in fact know what we do and DO appreciate us very much. Nice work brothers!

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Permalink Reply by Joel C Kelley on February 10, 2009 at 6:14pm

I'm with Tony on this one. Show me a department that does it right on every call, I dare you. It cannot be done. These firefighters did a great job on a tough call with staffing issues, ICS issues, and other things, as so well pointed out by Patricia Mccarty above. They just got lucky and got on TV, that's all. I can look at most every video on FFN and find something the people involved could have done better, but guess what? Everyone in every Video was doing the best they thought to do at the time. We can sit on our "C sectors" (thanks Art,) all we want and armchair quarterback, and still do no better than they did when the tones go off.

Again: to the rescuers, GREAT JOB!!! Learn from what went well, AND what went not so well, and you can only improve.

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Permalink Reply by patricia mccarty on February 10, 2009 at 8:49pm

I agree 100%, great rescue... just like to look out for fellow FF... like to see those guys live to do many more rescues. It WAS awesome... if you read to the end... the FF had to be taken to the hospital... that was my point. Came off poorly, I just hated to see no one read the situation and jump in to help pull him back. Also felt rotten watching him crawl up the bank with no one checking on him. All they had to do, was help pull him in. The owner, might have jumped in on that. My whole concern if you read what I wrote, was FF1

I wasn't saying they didn't do a great job, I was just trying to point out that there were a couple of things that could have done to help the FF out. If you don't point out where something almost went really wrong, you can't prevent it in the future. That's all I was trying to say. I appreciate my fellow firefighters enough to say hey, did you see what almost happened there? And it's heads-up for anyone who finds their teams faced with ice/water conditions... they're inexperienced with.

My whole point was about no recognition, or at least no action regarding the continual deterioration of the situation for FF 1..I don't think you understand how close that guy is to arresting.... and there was no reason for it

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Permalink Reply by patricia mccarty on February 10, 2009 at 9:03pm

If you read what I wrote, my whole concern was about FF1, and a lot of options that could have been used to help pull him back.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on February 11, 2009 at 11:07pm

Now that was ascerbic.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on February 11, 2009 at 11:12pm

It looks as if the rope may have gotten caught under the ice shelf - the shore rescuers didn't seem to be able to pull the firefighter in from shore. Pulling with more people or a winch may just have pulled the firefighter under the ice/water.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on February 11, 2009 at 11:15pm

The most important aspect of everything we do should always be: Is the risk worth the benefit?

In this case, it's fairly easy to say "They were successful, so it must have been worth the risk."
If one of the firefighters had become a LODD on this incident, I wonder if the bulk of the comments would have the same content and tone.

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Permalink Reply by Tiponi on February 17, 2009 at 12:08am

I agree with you, Patricia. I know that operations are very rarely, if ever, without mistakes. However, there were just too many glaring problems here. Problems that could have easily turned into tragedies.

This isn't to knock the people who actually performed the rescue. In my opinion they did I great job, especially given the shortcomings of the situation. You can tell from the video that they put everything they could into this rescue. My criticism is aimed at the incident commander who should have handled things very differently, IMHO.