'I Just Instantly Ran To Help Him': NYC Teen Rescues Child From Frozen Pond

February 16, 2026

A New York City teenager is being hailed as a hero after jumping into action to help save a child who fell through the ice of a frozen pond, screaming for help.

good news stories Alex Smith / PIX11 News

The incident happened at Springfield Park in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood. Fourteen-year-old Alex Smith happened to witness the moment it happened—and immediately sprang into action.

“I was like ‘oh my God, oh my God, I need to go help him,’” Smith said. “The first thing I jumped to was help him — I didn’t even call the police or nothing, I just instantly ran to help him.”

Smith quickly spotted a nearby safety ladder and slid it across the ice toward the struggling boy, whose head was barely above the freezing water. His fast thinking helped the child stay afloat until help arrived.

Not long after, firefighters from FDNY Engine 311 and Ladder 158 rushed to the scene on foot after children ran to the firehouse to alert them.

“Children came to the firehouse door, frantically banging on the door, reporting that a kid had fallen through the ice next door,” said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Tim Keenan.

Probationary firefighter Shaun McMahon ventured out onto the ice wearing a cold-water suit—but the rescue quickly became even more dangerous when the ice broke beneath him.

“About halfway out onto the ice, the ice gave way, and I went into the water,” McMahon said.

Despite plunging into the freezing pond, McMahon stayed focused on the mission.

“It was definitely cold, but all I really had thoughts of was getting to this kid—because regardless if I was cold or not, he was even colder,” he said.

With the help of about a dozen firefighters—including a partner who tethered a rope—McMahon and the child were pulled safely back to shore. The boy was placed in an ambulance and wrapped in blankets to help prevent hypothermia after spending roughly ten minutes in the icy water, clinging to the ice to stay afloat.

Smith, whose quick actions helped buy precious time, was later praised as an unsung hero.

“They told me if I hadn't done what I did, he wouldn't have been able to stay afloat and he would have drowned” he said.

Watch the rescue below: