Last month, the snow storms that his the area almost had drastic consequences for one local child. On Feb. 17, 11-year-old Demetrious Jordan had fallen through the ice of a frozen pond in his neighborhood and was struggling in the freezing water.

Fortunately, Plaza Middle School teacher Sean Smallman, with the help of his neighbors, came to the rescue.

“When I saw that the boy had fallen through the ice, I just jumped into action,” Smallman wrote in an email to his Plaza colleagues. “I knew that the ice wasn’t strong enough for me so I ran to grab a clothesline, threw on my Crocs and ran in my PJs around the pond to the side closest to (him).”

At first, Smallman tried to throw a rope for the child to reach, but the rope was too light. Thankfully, two more neighbors came to aid in the rescue – one of which was dressed in a wetsuit.

“He took the end of the rope and began to walk onto the lake. I saw that he was also cracking the ice up so I yelled for him to lay down and slide towards (Demetrious),” Smallman wrote. “When he got about halfway to the child, he threw the rope the rest of the way and another neighbor who had arrived (Jerry) helped me to pull (him) out of the water and to the shore.”

After they had pulled him back on land, the men dried off the young boy, began trying to get him warm and got him to the first responders who were arriving at that very moment. Thankfully, after being checked out by paramedics, the child was able to go home.

“The best part was hearing that Demetrious was ok and didn’t have to go to the hospital – a great thing considering he was in the water so long,” Smallman wrote. “I’m glad that I did get to meet his parents and hug them. My own wife was in tears just thinking about how that could have been our own children.”

Smallman was honored at the March 3 School Board meeting, where VBCPS Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence praised Smallman for his life-saving efforts.

You can see the video of the board meeting here. Select the March 3 meeting and scroll to the 5 minute mark.