Firefighters break through ice to rescue deer in frozen lake

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Pennsylvania donned thermal protection suits and forced their way through the ice of a frozen lake to rescue a deer that fell through.

The Scranton Fire Department said a woman walking her dog called 911 to report a deer had fallen through the ice of a frozen lake and was struggling to get out of the frigid water.

Firefighters dressed in thermal protection suits set about breaking their way through the ice to reach the deer.

"I had to use my forearm to pound my way through, probably about 150 feet before I got to the deer and then when I got to him, I scooped him up onto the ice," firefighter Bill Walsh told WHP-TV.

The department said the deer was cold and weak from spending more than an hour in the water, but did not appear to be injured. It was last seen running into the nearby woods.