PHOTOS: NYC First Responders Rescue Children Who Fell Through Frozen Queens Pond

New York City first responders saved the lives of two children who fell through the ice of a Queens pond on Thursday.

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) was called to the scene at Baisley Pond in Jamaica, Queens, at approximately 2:30 p.m., according to Pix 11.

Once Engine 292 and Ladder 155 arrived on the scene, they observed a 12-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl in the pond, WABC reports. The children were about 40 feet from the shore.

Firefighter John Fils Aime and Probationary Firefighter Connor O’Malley, both wearing their cold water rescue suits, entered the water, said FDNY Batallion Chief Chris Paolicelli. They were assisted in the water by members of the New York Police Department’s Emergency Service Unit (ESU) Truck 9.

O’Malley and Aime and members of the ESU were assisted by first responders on land, who used a ladder to break the ice and help the two work their way to children.

“Both Firefighter Fils Aime and Probationary Firefighter O’Malley were able to secure the individuals with buoyant life rings, and the other FDNY members on land pulled them into shore,” Paolicelli said.

The children were taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, Pix 11 reports.

“This successful rescue of these individuals is a direct reflection of the constant training we do for these situations,” explained Paolicelli.

O’Malley said:

Every roll call we have a designated member who is assigned the water rescue position. When the alarm went off I immediately began to put on my cold-water rescue suit. When we got on scene myself and Firefighter Fils Aime along with members of NYPD ESU Truck 9 entered the water. It was a group effort among the members on land and the members in the water to achieve a positive outcome for the individuals.

On Friday morning, the FDNY posted a reminder on Facebook advising citizens to never walk on ice.