VIDEO: Utah firefighter takes ‘polar plunge’ to save dog from pond

CLEARFIELD, Utah (ABC4) — North Davis Fire District firefighter and advanced EMT Logan Hadley is gaining national and international praise after he took a polar plunge into icy waters to rescue a dog who was trapped in a Clearfield pond.

Bob the dog and his family were enjoying an afternoon by Steed Pond when Bob got away and took a dive into the water. An ice shelf on the water, however, prevented Bob from being able to climb back out.

“We were actually pretty busy that night but we got a call about a rescue on the ice,” said Hadley. “We immediately ran out to our rigs. Headed over to Steed Park, got on scene and our chief, Chief [Mark] Becraft, arrived on scene first and advised ‘Yep, there is a dog in the water.'”

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Hadley said this might be a first for the North Davis Fire District. They’ve been called to assist other animals, such as saving ducks from a sewage grate or a stray cat off a roof or out of a tree, but to his knowledge, this was the first dog rescue out of icy waters.

“We train for this,” Chief Becraft told ABC4. “Obviously, we train for people but we’re ready for any situation.”

In a now-viral video shared by the fire district on social media, Hadley is seen crawling backward on all fours in a wet suit before dropping into the frigid Steed Pond. Despite the frozen waters and bitter temperatures, Hadley said he didn’t feel a thing.

“[In] that suit, you can’t feel a thing. Maybe in the toes a little you get that slight cool feeling but the air and everything in the suit is just well-insulated to where if anything, you just feel like you’re wearing a very bouyant suit that keeps you up,” said Hadley.

Bob the dog, however, was less than happy about the situation. As Hadley started getting close, Bob began barking and snapping, which complicated the situation a bit. During the rescue, Bob managed to get a snap at Hadley. The bite left behind a couple of punctures – none of which required stitches – but Hadley said he doesn’t hold any grudge against Bob.

“I’m sure he is not aggressive or anything but he was very scared and cold and in that ‘fight-or-flight,’ said Hadley. “I felt him kind of brush up against me and get a little thing but with the adrenaline and everything, I didn’t feel anything. It could have been a brush, it couldn’t been anything.”

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Once Bob was firmly in Hadley’s arms, his fellow firefighters began pulling the two out of the iced-over pond and safely to hard ground.

“I’m glad that we were able to get there in time. I’m glad that they called immediately and we were able to get Bob saved,” Hadley said. “The day before was actually pretty cruddy winter weather with the roads but luckily that all dried up and we were able to respond a little faster. I’m glad everything went well.”

Hadley said the rescue couldn’t have been possible without his crew. While he is the one in the viral video making the rescue, the rest of the North Davis Fire District team stood in the background, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice in case something went wrong. Thankfully, none of them had to dive in after Hadley and Bob, but they did do the hard work of pulling them both safely to shore.

Chief Becraft told ABC4 the family was delighted and grateful for the rescue and the community has shown an overwhelming amount of support for the North Davis Fire District crew. The family even dropped off a thank you note for the crew along with a basket of goodies and a dinosaur plush, though those aren’t the only goodies they will be getting from the successful rescue.

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“I owe a lot of ice cream. There is a little tradition that we do that whenever someone gets attention from the news or the media or anything like that, that person owes ice cream,” explained Hadley. “So, I owe the department and all the crew members a lot of ice cream.”

While this rescue has a happy ending, North Davis Fire District is reminding the public – both human and animal alike – to be careful around icy waters. In Utah, the ice conditions are still not as safe as they would like. Pet owners are advised to keep dogs on a leash and keep firm control of them to keep them safe around the water.

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