GLOCESTER – Firefighters from Harmony, Chepachet and Smithfield were called to a unique rescue Tuesday morning, after a baby deer was discovered trapped in the ice at Waterman Lake.
Crews rescued the deer from the frozen lake with the help of a Rescue Alive Rescue Sled, a floating platform that disperses the weight of firefighters with pontoons. The sled decreases the risk that rescue personnel will break through the surface, and potentially get trapped beneath the ice shelf. The device also folds into a cube for ease of storage and deployment, according to those involved with the deer-saving mission.
Responders wore special ice rescue suits, tethered by ropes, and controlled by personnel on shore at a beach just across the lake from Glocester Country Club.
The Harmony Fire Department was first alerted of the situation in the morning on Tuesday, March 1, and called in the Chepachet and Smithfield Fire Departments for help.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management was also called to the scene, and once the deer was pulled from the frozen water, it was dried and released back into the woods.
“We are happy to report that the deer was released into the wild, safe and sound,” noted HFD.
