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(BostonHerald) – A quick-thinking Derry, N.H., fire lieutenant is being hailed as a hero after saving a kayaker who was struggling to stay above the water after falling into a lake with his canine companion.
Lt. Michael Stanhope was among the Derry firefighters who responded to a report of a man clinging to an overturned kayak on Beaver Lake around 8:43 a.m. this morning, fire officials say.
“Initial arriving personnel found one adult male in the water with a dog struggling to stay afloat, while clutching the side of an overturned kayak,” Derry Fire Chief Michael J. Gagnon wrote in a release. “Neither were wearing a personal flotation device.”
Before a Derry Marine Unit reached the scene, Gagnon said Stanhope strapped on a personal flotation device and used a nearby kayak to paddle out and “rescue the struggling victim from the water.”
The victim’s dog was rescued by a bystander, Gagnon said.
