Firefighters recount rescuing 2 people, dog from truck in pond in Deerfield, Illinois
Two people and a dog were rescued from a truck that ended up in a pond in Deerfield, Illinois, on Wednesday morning.
Illinois State Police troopers responded to a truck that drove off I-294 and into a pond near Lake Cook Road.
Police said a man, a woman, and a dog were still in the car in the water when emergency responders arrived on scene. They were all rescued, and one person was taken to a local hospital with injuries.
Deerfield Bannockburn Fire Department firefighter Andrew Banda Frey said that within two minutes of getting the call, he and his colleagues were at the pond.
"From what we heard, there was a medical emergency that led them to go into the water," he said.
According to firefighters, the woman was found standing on the flatbed of the truck and a man was seen from the waist up through the sunroof. The water had already reached the truck's window.
Lieutenant and Paramedic John Cossentino is the head of incident command and coordinated the rescue.
"We practice this a few times a year, so we knew that immediately we were going to have two members go into the water to make contact with the patient," he said.
Frey put on a special surface rescue suit and got right into the water.
"Got hooked up to a couple of lines, a couple of ropes and then we swam out to the car. Once we got to the car, we made sure both the patients were OK and then we got a couple of flotation devices onto them," he said.
Frey said they got one patient out via the water and a boat came to rescue the second patient. Northbrook firefighters brought in a boat. A small dog that was in the truck was also rescued.
"Slightly different day than normal. That's the job that we signed up for," he said.
"It's the best job in the world. Very exciting and very fulfilling," Cossentino said.
The man rescued from the truck was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.
