Firefighters Help Rescue Deer That Broke Through Thin Ice on Lake Bemidji

Credit: Visit Bemidji

The Bemidji Fire Department helped rescue a four-point buck from Lake Bemidji today after the buck broke through the thin ice on the lake.

Around noon today, the buck was caught in the area where the Mississippi River enters Lake Bemidji from Lake Irving. It’s not often firefighters are called in to help rescue deer, but Bemidji’s fire chief says today’s incident warranted their action.

“While we typically let nature take its course, this was a special incident or a special circumstance because one, the publicity it was getting, and two, we had onlookers who were talking about going out onto the ice in an attempt to try and rescue the deer or assist the deer,” said Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood. “And so, because the tools, the equipment, and the training, our firefighters responded down there with the assistance of Bemidji [police], the [Beltrami County] Sheriff’s Office, and [DNR] conservation officers, all went down and helped extricate the deer from the lake.

Sherwood says this was an unusual situation and one that proved gratifying in the end.

“It’s good to help do something that seems positive, and what I mean is, go to a feel-good call instead of always a negative-type emergency call,” explained Sherwood. “So, it felt great. It felt great as the administrator of the department to see my members go out and assist nature, but also put smiles on people’s faces, because when that deer exited the water people were clapping and cheering, so it was exciting.”

According to Sherwood, local authorities had stopped traffic on Bemidji Avenue when the deer got out of the water – and it was a good thing, too. The buck ended up running into a vehicle that was stopped but got up and appeared to leave the scene unharmed.