Smiths Falls firefighters rescue youth from icy Rideau River

First responders in Smiths Falls rescued a youth who fell through the ice on the Rideau River on Friday afternoon.

Shortly before 2 p.m., a 911 caller reported the youth in danger in the water across from the Econo Lodge hotel on Centre Street.

Two members of the Smiths Falls fire department crawled over the ice to reach the youth, with one firefighter going into the water to hook up the youth to a rescue line, while the second crawled out to assist in pulling the youth to shore.

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“This could have been tragic had this youth been alone,” Smiths Falls police said on its Facebook page. The youth’s parents gave permission to police to post a short video on the rescue on the webpage as “an educational piece.”

“Our waters around the town are often fast-moving and don’t always freeze.”

Police also congratulated the youth and his friends for doing all the right things after he fell through the ice.

“The youth did exactly what he was supposed to, (he) remained calm and listened to the rescuers. His friends did the right thing and called 911 telling our dispatcher where they were.”

The unidentified victim was taken to hospital for treatment for possible hypothermia.