thedrifter
05-05-09, 07:46 AM
Revere police rescue trapped children
Brave frigid seas to save three
By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent | May 5, 2009
A pair of quick-thinking Revere police officers plunged into the chilly sea over the weekend to save three children who were trapped on rocks, the tide swelling around them.
On Sunday evening at about 5 p.m., Officers Joseph Singer and Kenneth Bruker responded to a report of children in danger on the beach not far from Agneous Street, according to Revere police. Upon arrival, Singer said, he could see through binoculars that the two girls and one boy, ages 12 and 13, were waving for help. The water was rising fast.
"The girls were screaming for help," Singer said in an interview yesterday. "I thought, 'We have to act now.' "
Seeing that the children's heads were about to go under, and with rescue crews still a ways off, Singer and Bruker ran to the beach, stripped off excess gear, and swam out to the children. The water was frigid.
"My body went into shock as soon as I was in the water," said Singer. "At first I thought that I couldn't make it, but then I thought, either I save these kids, or they go under. And I couldn't sleep at night if I let them go under."
Singer had the two girls hold onto him, and he swam with them back to shore. While Bruker provided first aid, Singer swam back for the boy and brought him back.
Singer, a former Marine, credits his military training with the quick-response skills.
"We did a lot of crazy water-survival stuff in the Marines," he said. "You don't think; you just act."
The children were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of minor cuts and slight hypothermia and then released to their parents.
Ellie
Brave frigid seas to save three
By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent | May 5, 2009
A pair of quick-thinking Revere police officers plunged into the chilly sea over the weekend to save three children who were trapped on rocks, the tide swelling around them.
On Sunday evening at about 5 p.m., Officers Joseph Singer and Kenneth Bruker responded to a report of children in danger on the beach not far from Agneous Street, according to Revere police. Upon arrival, Singer said, he could see through binoculars that the two girls and one boy, ages 12 and 13, were waving for help. The water was rising fast.
"The girls were screaming for help," Singer said in an interview yesterday. "I thought, 'We have to act now.' "
Seeing that the children's heads were about to go under, and with rescue crews still a ways off, Singer and Bruker ran to the beach, stripped off excess gear, and swam out to the children. The water was frigid.
"My body went into shock as soon as I was in the water," said Singer. "At first I thought that I couldn't make it, but then I thought, either I save these kids, or they go under. And I couldn't sleep at night if I let them go under."
Singer had the two girls hold onto him, and he swam with them back to shore. While Bruker provided first aid, Singer swam back for the boy and brought him back.
Singer, a former Marine, credits his military training with the quick-response skills.
"We did a lot of crazy water-survival stuff in the Marines," he said. "You don't think; you just act."
The children were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of minor cuts and slight hypothermia and then released to their parents.
Ellie