01-30-2012, 12:54 PM
Taken from: http://www.wmur.com/news/30309061/detail.html
Principal Jumps Into River After Boy Falls Through Thin Ice
ROCHESTER, N.H. -- An elementary school principal jumped into a frozen Cocheco River on Wednesday to save a 10-year-old student who fell through the ice.
Firefighters said that because of Principal Gwen Rhodes' quick action, Andrew Brown was only in the water for a few short minutes.
Rhodes said she was just doing her job when she jumped into the river to rescue Andrew, who had fallen through the ice outside the Gonic School in Rochester.
"Everyone worked as a team and reacted quickly," she said.
Rhodes said the boy, who has autism, ran away from a teacher and through the woods behind the school onto the frozen river after a morning break. Both the teacher and Rhodes took off after him and saw him come to a stop on a patch of thin ice.
"And then the ice broke, so the first reaction was I needed to get him out of the water, keep his head above water and get him back up the embankment," Rhodes said.
Rhodes said she was able to get to Andrew and use trees along the riverbank to pull them both to safety.
"We were able to work our way to the edge, and I used a tree to brace my foot that was under the water, and I pushed him and got him out of the water," she said.
While many are calling her a hero, Rhodes insisted she was in the right place at the right time.
"This is just something that's a circumstance, and you did what you needed to do," she said. "But what we do every day is what makes people who work in schools heroes."
"If she wasn't there in that incident, who knows what would have happened," said Chris Brown, the victim's father.
Brown and his wife, Tricia, said they're grateful Andrew is OK and will be back in school Friday.
Officials said Rhodes and Andrew were treated for hypothermia and some bruises, but they're doing fine.
Principal Jumps Into River After Boy Falls Through Thin Ice
ROCHESTER, N.H. -- An elementary school principal jumped into a frozen Cocheco River on Wednesday to save a 10-year-old student who fell through the ice.
Firefighters said that because of Principal Gwen Rhodes' quick action, Andrew Brown was only in the water for a few short minutes.
Rhodes said she was just doing her job when she jumped into the river to rescue Andrew, who had fallen through the ice outside the Gonic School in Rochester.
"Everyone worked as a team and reacted quickly," she said.
Rhodes said the boy, who has autism, ran away from a teacher and through the woods behind the school onto the frozen river after a morning break. Both the teacher and Rhodes took off after him and saw him come to a stop on a patch of thin ice.
"And then the ice broke, so the first reaction was I needed to get him out of the water, keep his head above water and get him back up the embankment," Rhodes said.
Rhodes said she was able to get to Andrew and use trees along the riverbank to pull them both to safety.
"We were able to work our way to the edge, and I used a tree to brace my foot that was under the water, and I pushed him and got him out of the water," she said.
While many are calling her a hero, Rhodes insisted she was in the right place at the right time.
"This is just something that's a circumstance, and you did what you needed to do," she said. "But what we do every day is what makes people who work in schools heroes."
"If she wasn't there in that incident, who knows what would have happened," said Chris Brown, the victim's father.
Brown and his wife, Tricia, said they're grateful Andrew is OK and will be back in school Friday.
Officials said Rhodes and Andrew were treated for hypothermia and some bruises, but they're doing fine.