Bristol Fire Department rescues two ice fishermen from pond

Staff report

BRISTOLVILLE

A home health aide watched a man slip through the ice and into the freezing water Tuesday afternoon at a pond across the street from where she was working on Phelps Road.

As two men yelled for help, the woman called 911, which brought the Bristol Township Fire Department to the scene to rescue them.

The aide saw the men from the picture window as they went onto the ice, then saw one of them go in — then the other one fall in while trying to help the first one out.

The second man was able to get back out of the water and was lying on the ice, said another woman at the house who wished not to be identified. He was holding the other man from going completely under water.

The men were described as being in their 50s or 60s.

The home health aide called 911 at 1:42 p.m., moments after the first man went into the water.

Firefighters arrived at 2:01 p.m., four minutes after they were dispatched, said Bristol Township Fire Chief Tom Dempsey.

The men were rescued by 2:05 p.m., according to Trumbull County 911.

Firefighter paramedic Justin Martin said the man in the pond was in the water up to his neck.

Both men were doing well and refused medical treatment afterward.

“They were very grateful, very thankful, in good spirits,” Martin said.

Dempsey said he recommends anyone who goes ice fishing to check the depth of the ice before going out, wear a life jacket and maybe wait until the ice is a little thicker.

This ice was only about 2 inches thick, Martin said.

An employee of Lakeside Bait Shop on Route 305 in Bazetta Township, near a boat launch on the east side of Mosquito Lake, said there have been many ice fishermen on Mosquito in recent days, and they have reported that the ice is 6 inches thick.

She’s heard of no problems with thin ice, she said.