Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Twelve-year-old Anna Fleury of Napanee is being hailed as a hero after her quick thinking helped to save the lives of two boaters rescued from the chilly waters of Hay Bay on Friday.
Fleury was in the right place at the right time, home from school on a P.A. Day and visiting her grandmother Deb McCann’s home on Sherman Point.
“I turned TV on mute and I went over to the couch to read about arm knitting,” Fleury said of how the harrowing afternoon unfolded. “I heard screaming, the first thing that came to my mind was just kids playing. I didn’t do anything about it. But then I heard the screaming again so it was a little bit suspicious so I went to check it out. I found the boat was kind of tipped over and half under water so it didn’t look right. Then stranded quite far away from the boat were two people.”
Realizing something was wrong, she quickly got the attention of her grandmother.
“She went upstairs with me to check out what was happening because she was in the office and she also saw what was happening so we both went outside trying to figure out the situation so she asked me to grab the phone to call 9-1-1, which I did,” recalled Fleury.
Greater Napanee Emergency Services responded to the call with assistance from Mohawk Fire Department as well as JRCC 8-Wing 424 Squadron Search and Rescue, the Canadian Coast Guard, Lennox and Addington OPP and EMS.
Fleury estimates the boaters were in the water for over 20 minutes. She helped keep them calm from shore by alerting them help was on the way.
A neighbour using an Argo all-terrain vehicle just successfully pulled both boaters from the bay just as emergency crews were arriving. They were checked over by EMS at the scene for signs of hypothermia and taken to hospital as a precaution.
For her bravery and for knowing what to do in an emergency, Fleury was awarded a Challenge Coin from GNES and an Operation Freeze gift certificate from the OPP for a free Froster, which are awarded to kids they see are making a positive difference in the community.
“It felt really good to know these people ended up being ok and knowing that I helped save their lives I felt really proud of myself,” said Fleury. “I’m just glad that they’re ok.”
GNES would also like to use this incident as a reminder that personal flotation devices save lives.