By Charles Proctor
The Hartford Courant

MERIDEN, Conn. — In a dramatic rescue, a father and son who live near Beaver's Pond rushed to the aid of two ice fishers who plunged into the water when the ice beneath them gave way Sunday morning.

The fire department received two 911 calls at 10:53 a.m. reporting that two men who were fishing about 50 feet from shore had fallen into the pond, said Assistant Fire Chief Robert Burdick.

A father and son who live in the area and saw the fishermen fall in rushed onto the ice to assist. They took a ladder with them but abandoned it halfway to the scene, Burdick said.

Burdick said the father crouched on the edge of the hole to hold up one of the fishermen and keep his nose and mouth above water. The second fisherman managed to stay afloat himself, Burdick said.

Firefighters equipped with water suits and rescue sleds arrived on the scene at 10:55 and pulled the two fishermen onto solid ground, Burdick said. "The neighbor was pretty close to going in himself," he said.

Burdick praised the swift actions of the father and son, whose names he said he did not know. "It's kind of hairy for an untrained person to do a rescue," he said. "It was a pretty gutsy thing to do."

The two fishermen, whom Burdick described as in their early 20s, were taken to MidState Medical Center in Meriden, where their conditions were improving.

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