Tragedy averted as Lake Zurich firefighters rescue woman from pond
Updated Saturday to include that dog also was saved.
Tragedy was avoided Thursday evening when Lake Zurich firefighters rescued a Deer Park-area woman who'd fallen through an iced-over retention pond near her home while attempting to save her sons. The two 12-year-old boys went through the ice when they were trying to rescue the family's dog.
The dog - an energetic brown rescue named Abby - escaped the family's yard and ended up stuck in the pond on the north end of the Hamilton Estates subdivision near Deer Park sometime around 5:30 p.m. The two boys ventured onto the ice to save the dog but partially broke through the ice themselves. The near 60 degree weather had weakened the ice significantly, officials said.
Lucia Feczko said Friday that seeing her sons in trouble on the ice was her worst nightmare. By the time she had made her way onto the ice, one of her sons had made his way out of the water, along with the dog.
"I instinctively went to go get him," Feczko told ABC 7 on Friday morning. "You're just sitting there, thinking, 'Oh my gosh, this is it. This might be the end. What's going to happen? What if I can't save my son?'"
But as she approached her son, she fell through the ice, sustaining minor cuts to her right leg in the process. Despite the shock of the sudden cold, Feczko was able to lift her boy up and out of the muddy water and onto safer ice.
Soon after, a family friend called 911 and a fire department ambulance rushed to the scene, while in the back of the vehicle, Lake Zurich firefighter Justin Brooks changed into a wet suit.
A Lake County sheriff's officer who'd also been dispatched guided the ambulance crew to Feczko, who was submerged in the freezing muddy water around 50 feet from the shore.
After firefighter Jason Kraus tied a rope around Brooks, he made his way across the ice to Feczko. When he was about 5 feet away, the ice suddenly gave way from under him and Brooks plunged into the muck.
"The water tasted bad and it was cold," Brooks said during a news conference Friday.
Brooks was able to grab Feczko and trudge over to a sturdy ice shelf. Once there, Feczko kicked her legs hard against the water, Kraus pulled the rope and Brooks boosted Feczko up and she was able to get out of the water and onto the ice. Once Brooks lifted himself out, he and Feczko were dragged to shore, leaving a streak of mud behind them across the ice.
Brooks commended Feczko for staying calm despite the situation.
"She was in there for about 15 minutes before we were able to get there," Brooks said. "She was very alert and knew what was going on but you could hear the urgency in her voice."
Lake Zurich Fire Chief John Malcolm said he doesn't blame Feczko for going out on the ice to save her sons because it's what anyone would have done.
But Malcolm did recommend that someone in the situation of needing to rescue a pet should call 911 and leave it to the professionals.
"They train on this all the time. We go over this, especially as we get into this season," Malcolm said. "Don't hesitate to call 911 - that's what we're here for."
Malcolm said the most important thing to them was that the family was OK in the end.