Ice Rescue in Boise, ID

BOISE — A man and his dog are recovering after a water rescue by Boise firefighters Wednesday night.

The 27-year-old man had taken his dog for a walk near a body of water at Lakeharbor Lane and State Street at about 10:30 p.m. when the pet bolted onto the ice-covered lake.

Firefighters say the man called his girlfriend and told her he was going into the water after the dog. By the time the woman reached the lakefront, both were in the water.

The man’s girlfriend called 911 for help.

Battalion Chief Jim Gross said a firefighter had to edge out onto the ice to reach the man.

“Our first company got here and they found the victim still in the water, clinging to the ice shelf. And at that time they initiated what we call a go-rescue with our ice rescue suit,” he said.”Our firefighter crawled out onto the ice, wrapped him up with a rope and a carabiner, and we pulled him to shore.”

The man had been in the water for at least ten minutes by the time firefighters got to him, and nearly suffered from hypothermia, Gross said.

Firefighters say he will be fine. The dog was able to get out of the lake on its own.

This is the second rescue this week involving pets and iced-over water.

Officers rescued a woman Tuesday afternoon after she fell through the ice on a pondnear Whitewater Boulevard. She told officers she had gone onto the ice to save her dog after it fell through.

Gross cautioned people to be careful around icy water. Even if a pet jumps in, he said, the owner should stay on shore and call for help.

“I don’t recommend them going out after it,” he said. “We’ve got the equipment, we’ve got the training. We’ll get there, we’ll go out and try to retrieve the dog so people don’t have to succumb to the incident that this individual did tonight.”

About Author

countyfiretactics

Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.

Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.

He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.

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