Professional jump roper saves teen drowning in ice pond with special skill

A professional jump roper became a hero after using his skills to save a teenager who fell into an ice pond while trying to save his dog.

David Fisher of Westfield, Indiana, was outside on a winter day when his neighbor’s dog fell into a semi-frozen pond while chasing geese.

The pup’s 18-year-old owner tried to save it and dropped into the frigid water too.

Fisher, who has also written children’s books about a hero who jump ropes, knew exactly what to do.

‘I just instinctively went right for my bag of jump ropes and pulled out the double Dutch ropes,’ Fisher told WRTV.

‘I headed out on the ice pond, and as I started to go out there, I could hear the ice cracking underneath my feet.

‘When I finally did arrive, I slung the rope to him, and he grabbed one handle, and bit by bit, we pulled him out of the ice pond.’

The dad and his son rescued the teen and his pet, and took them to their home where they could warm up and recover.

Fisher now has a new accolade to add to his three world records for jumping while sitting on the ground. On Monday, the Westfield City Council honored him with the Lifesaving Citizen Award.

‘He understands what it means to put the needs of others ahead of your own,’ said Westfield Mayor Scott Willis.

The city’s fire chief, Rob Gaylor, noted that similar situations involving with ice ponds have not always ended well.

‘My department and I are extremely grateful to David and Felix for their quick-thinking and selfless actions that day,’ said Gaylor.

Fisher, who described his professional skills as enabling him to put on ‘a very interactive, visually entertaining jump rope show’, humbly said his actions on December 14 were not anything out of the ordinary.

‘We’re all part of a community,’ he said.

‘I would hope that when cries go out, everybody could do whatever it is that they might be able to do to help the situation.’

Westfield is about 20 miles north of Indianapolis.

The teen was saved three-and-a-half years after a police officer threw himself into a pond in Worcester, Massachusetts, to try to save a 14-year-old boy who was drowning. Both the cop and the boy died.

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