Firefighter who went into water to save boy on frozen Bronx River speaks out

BRONX (WABC) -- The FDNY is issuing a warning for people to staying off icy lakes.

Fire officials talked on Friday about the risks that they pose, and for the first time, we are hearing from one of the rescuers who helped save a child off the Bronx River.

"We get a lot of false calls out there," firefighter Kevin Hillman said. "But to be honest with you, no, the last thing I thought I'd be doing that day was going into the water and pulling a child out."

But this one was the real thing. Eleven-year-old Rahquan Brooks was stuck, standing on the partially frozen river in an area called Concrete Plant Park in the Soundview section.

"The ice held him up, but as I approached him, I tried to get on top of the ice shelf," he said. "But the ice shelf wouldn't hold my weight, so it just kept cracking."

Hillman told him to stay put, and within minutes, he was in the water.

"I was about to turn around and tell everyone to relax, that it was only up to my waist deep, that it wasn't that bad," he said. "Then as I took one more step, I was fully submerged into the water, so it caught me off guard a little bit."

It was a failed attempt for the two boys, who wanted to skate on the icy river. But thanks to the men of Ladder 54, and Hillman and Chris Harkenish in cold-water rescue suit, it was a successful operation.

"We have 72 of our companies trained to do these types of rescues right now," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. "And they have the equipment to do them."

The dramatic rescue is one that the Parks Department hopes will remind New Yorkers how dangerous it is to venture out on icy rivers and ponds.

"We don't want it to get to a situation where our bravest are out there trying to save individuals," parks commissioner Mitchell Silver said. "We want to make sure that people stay safe and stay off the ice."

Thankfully, there have been no disasters thus far.

"Things definitely could have gone a lot worse than they did," Hillman said. "But everything worked out."