By Jim Adams
The Union Leader
WINDHAM, N.H. — Firefighters pulled a man from Canobie Lake who fell through the ice while trying to rescue his dog Friday morning.
“They were both probably in the water for a good 20 to 25 minutes,” said Fire Chief Tom McPherson.
Michael Cifuni, 58, of 121 South Shore Road, was transported to Parkland Medical Center in Derry to be treated for hypothermia.
Rescuers responded to a 911 call reporting that a dog had fallen through the ice at 10:17 a.m., McPherson said. While on route to the end of Johnson Street off West Shore Road, they received an update that a man in a canoe attempting to rescue the dog had tipped over and was also in the water, McPherson said.
Firefighters found Cifuni’s wife on the ice when they arrived. Cifuni and his shar-pei, Rusty, were in the water several hundred feet off shore.
“What made it a little bit difficult for us was the position of the victim and the dog,” McPherson said.
Johnson’s Island blocked the view of Cifuni and Rusty. Rescuers, wearing ice rescue suits and equipment, were deployed from the shore near Johnson Street to the island.
Once there, they broke through the ice to the victims. Cifuni was not wearing a life jacket, McPherson said. Rescuers wrapped the shar-pei in a blanket and strapped Cifuni onto a plastic rescue sled.
Police and fire personnel pulled them to safety from the shore.
The Salem Fire Department assisted at the scene, McPherson said.
“I’m happy to say they were both pulled from the water, transported to the appropriate facilities, and no personnel were injured,” McPherson said.
Rusty underwent a warming process in the rescue vehicle and was later treated and released from Windham Animal Hospital for minor cuts and hypothermia.
Rescue personnel faced many challenges during the rescue, McPherson said. Canobie Lake contains many natural springs causing the ice to have several areas of varying thickness, and the ice kept breaking as rescuers attempted to reach the victims.
Thick brush in the area also posed a problem for firefighters using ropes to tether rescuers and eventually pull the victims to shore, McPherson said.
Copyright 2012 Union Leader Corp.
All Rights Reserved