Firefighters in ice-rescue training class suddenly spotted two teens in need of real-life ice rescuing (video)

Missouri firefighters were just finishing up an ice-rescue training exercise when, right on cue, two nearby teens — 15 and 17 years old — ran across the thin ice and fell through, plunging into the freezing cold water. They struggled, unable to get back onto the ice, until the fire chief noticed and put the trainees into life-saving action.

From Miami Herald:

The fire chief noticed two people running across the lake before the ice below them broke, sending them plunging into the water, according to the fire district.

"I glanced over and thought, 'Yeah, that's just an accident waiting to happen,' Steve Rinehart, assistant chief of the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District, told KTVI. "And the minute I thought that, they dropped through the ice."

The crew went into response mode and two additional departments assisted in the rescue, the fire district said. …

Within a minute of the firefighters entering the water, they pulled the teens back onto the ice. From there, firefighters on land used the other end of the ropes to pull everyone back to shore.

The rescue of the two teens, ages 15 and 17, occurred 350 feet from shore, KSDK reported. They were taken to the hospital for observation but did not suffer any injuries.

"We ask one thing from everyone- Stay off the ice!" the fire district said. "These two were lucky with their outcome because we had crews within seconds, but not everyone is that lucky."

Video shows how the firefighters-in-training did an amazing job: