Crews from Maryland Heights Fire Protection District picked the perfect day to train for ice water rescues after rescuing a pair of teens who fell through the ice of the lake they were practising on.
The incident happened as firefighters and paramedics trained on Creve Coeur Lake Park in Missouri's St. Louis County on 8 February.
Speaking to local news media, Jan Muschany, Maryland Heights Fire Protection District’s deputy chief medical officer, said: "I looked over and saw two people running and I turned to chief, and I said 'hey chief’, and I kind of pointed in that direction."
"I glanced over and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s just an accident waiting to happen. And the minute I thought that, they dropped through the ice," said Steve Rinehart, assistant chief of the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District.
Every single person training switched gears immediately. "We went from a training mode to a rescue mode," Mr Rinehart added.
A drone operator filming the training flew over the pair to check on their status as the crew members mobilised.
Four crew members deployed on the ice before deploying ropes and entering the water to rescue the teens.
"We ask one thing from everyone- Stay off the ice! These 2 were lucky with their outcome because we had crews within seconds but not everyone is that lucky," Maryland Heights FPD wrote on social media afterward.
