EVERETT — A girl and a boy are safe and warm after falling through the ice Sunday afternoon on Beverly Lake in south Everett.
Everett Fire Department crews were called at about 1 p.m. Sunday to the 400 block of 75th Street SW after the youngsters, both about age 12, walked out onto the ice, fell through and needed to be rescued, said Everett Fire Marshal Rick Robinson.
While crews were responding, Lissa Arnold and Richard Oleson launched a rubber raft from their lake-side apartment porch, and with the help of other neighbors pulled the kids into the raft and got them to shore.
When fire department crews arrived, they found the youths in the rescuers’ apartment wrapped in blankets. Paramedics evaluated the children, but no emergency transportation was required, Robinson said.
Arnold said she and Oleson were gazing out onto the lake from their back window when they saw the girl fall through the ice. Seconds later, the boy, trying to help his friend, fell in.
“We ran out the door and yelled that we were coming to help them,” Arnold said. “We had a rubber raft and 300 feet of rope that really should have been put away. It was just weird that they were still outside. Thank God, because without the boat or the rope, we would not have saved those kids.”
With the help of other neighbors, Oleson managed to get the children into the raft. Neighbors then pulled Oleson and the children to the shore as the ice broke up around the small craft.
“The little boat was deflating and had holes in it because of the ice,” Arnold said. “It was like a horror movie. All the neighbors ran out with blankets and we warmed the kids up in our apartment until the paramedics got there. Those kids were in the water about 10 minutes. It’s amazing that they are OK.”
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