Two water rescues in Shelby Township within hours of each other

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich (WJBK) - Two rescues in Shelby Township in one day.

Both rescues happened on lakes in the area and within hours of each other.

"The 14-year-old boy was holding her head up above water. We didn't realize that until a rescuer got all the way out there.", said Captain Frank Pierce, Shelby Township Fire Department.

It was a chaotic scene on Crystal Lake at the Crystal Lake apartments.

An officer,  then a civilian tried to rescue a 14-year-old boy and two-year-old girl who had fallen through the ice around seven o'clock Tuesday night.

The third time was the charm.

Captain Pierce said, "A member of Shelby Township's dive team came to the rescue."

The two children were taken to Beaumont Hospital in Troy.

Less than four hours earlier Shelby Township police responded to a similar scene on Iroquois Lake.

Two boys fell through the ice while walking a dog.

One managed to get out and back to shore before help arrived.

By the time Officer Paul Fox got to the scene another officer had fallen through trying to rescue the boy left behind.

"I could see a police officer pulling somebody through the water like she was on the ice and as he's pulling the ice is breaking apart.", said Tony Vaccari, Shelby Township resident.

"He gets to the young man and he's pulling him out. He throws me the rope so I essentially pull him as he's pulling the other."

The two accidents and rescue efforts that followed are now serving as object lessons about walking on thin ice.

"We believe that ice is never safe to walk on. It's never a good idea to walk on. Make sure if you're going to do it be sure that you have someone that knows where you're going and what you're doing.", said Captain Pierce.

"It's been one of those winters where we get a cold spell and then it's warmer and it weakens the ice. A lot of our lakes here in Shelby Township are not lakes persay. They're mostly retention ponds so they're not that strong to begin with.", said Lieutenant Jeff Daniel, Shelby Township Police Department.