Mother, 2 girls plucked from pond

Firefighters avert fishing tragedy after ice breaks

Darien L'Heureux has received the best Christmas gift of his life.

Three years after his best friend fell through thin ice and died, L'Heureux's wife and two young daughters were rescued by firefighters yesterday after they plunged into an Athol lake while ice fishing.

The three were pulled from Lake Ellis after a retired firefighter saw them fall through ice that had been weakened by rain and warming temperatures.

Twenty terrifying minutes later, Sileng L'Heureux, 31, and her two children, Juliana, 11, and Leann, 3, were hoisted by rescuers to a rescue sled. Athol firefighters had to battle ice that repeatedly cracked and gave way before they could reach the victims 200 feet from shore.

"If it hadn't been for the guy who called, I wouldn't have my family now," Darien L'Heureux, still shaken, said yesterday afternoon.

Lee Chauvette, a retired 20-year veteran of the Athol Fire Department who lives on the lake, caught a glimpse of the accident only because he had returned to his home from an errand to retrieve a checkbook.

Chauvette called 911 at 9:12 a.m. and drove to the opposite side of the lake, where the trio had fallen into the water. He stepped to a solid patch of ice and shouted instructions at the mother and children, encouraging them to focus on him and remain calm while firefighters rushed to the scene.

"They were screaming at first, trying to attract attention," Chauvette said. "I think they were scared of the fact that nobody would see them."

A fire engine and an ambulance arrived shortly, and the victims became calm as they awaited rescue.

"If he didn't see that, it's hard to say what would have happened," said Deputy Fire Chief Tom Lozier, who plucked the victims from the water and pulled them into the sled. "They were very lucky. This was a Christmas miracle. The stars lined up just right for this one."

The victims were treated at Athol Memorial Hospital and released.

Darien L'Heureux said his wife believed she might die. About 6 feet away, her older daughter lifted the 3-year-old out of the freezing water and rested the bulk of Leann's body on a relatively strong piece of ice.

"My two children kept their heads," L'Heureux said.

His wife and daughters, who are accustomed to ice fishing, had been on the lake for an hour before they fell through, said L'Heureux. Several people had been ice fishing the previous day, L'Heureux said, and the lake was believed to be safe.

According to estimates from Chauvette and Lozier, however, the thickness of the ice near the accident ranged between a half-inch and 3 inches.

The ice rescue is believed to be the first by the Athol Fire Department, which trains for such an emergency at the exact location where the L'Heureux family was saved, Lozier said, calling the rescue "a real team effort."

Hours after the accident, Darien L'Heureux said he remained shocked but grateful.

"It will be a good Christmas," L'Heureux said. "I've got my family, and that's all I need."