Windsor pizza shop owner and staff rescue 2 men from icy water
Owner wants city to consider safety upgrades following frigid rescue operation
The chaotic rescue of two brothers from an icy harbour on the Detroit River started when a delivery driver heard their loud screams for help while grabbing orders on a busy Friday night.
"Right away, we knew someone was in the water and someone needed help," said Mohamed Rashwan, owner of Armando's Pizza on Riverside Drive beside Lakeview Park Marina in Windsor, Ont.
He raced out into the night toward the edge of the water while a server inside called 911 for help.
Rashwan spotted the men in the ice-covered harbour and tried to run toward them.
"The sidewalk was icy, completely iced. We were running and slipping and sliding," he said.
"I got there and I got on my stomach and tried to reach for the guy to get him out."
Struggling to reach the arms of one of the men, a driver took his jacket off and gave it to Rashwan to use like a rope to pull them closer to the edge.
With Rashwan sprawled out on the ice-covered pavement trying to pull up one of the brothers while the other grabbed for the jacket, more staff raced outside to help.
"Right away, my second driver called one of my chefs and within a minute he was out and we had better leverage to pull this guy out," he said.
Rashwan said it took about two minutes to pull the first guy out.
"The second guy that was in the water took us a bit longer to get him out."
One of his employees threw out an emergency life preserver to the man still in the water but there was no ladder or low hanging edge nearby they could pull him up from.
The wooden docks on the other side of the marina sit lower but there are locked fences preventing people from accessing them.
Rashwan and his team of about a dozen employees tried to pull the man toward the police boat launch but ran into the same problem.
"I kept my eyes on him the whole time, I engaged with him, he was responsive to me and was doing everything I wanted to do but I mean, there's not much for me to do," said Rashwan.
They were able to pull the man out of the water but not enough to get him onto land.
"At the same time one of my cooks asked one of my dishwashers to run back to the restaurant to grab a ladder," said Rashwan.
While the team used the ladder to help get him to land, Rashwan heard the man say that he could no longer feel his legs.
"We couldn't pull him out.... It was icy, it was cold. I mean, I felt that I was going to fall in the water too," said Rashwan.
"When I was trying to pull up the first person...I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I had my worker holding my legs."
Rashwan was eventually able to help guide the second man to the ladder and two employees grabbed the man's shoulders to pull him up to land.
He said that EMS wrapped him in blankets and took both of them to hospital for treatment.
"Once he was out, I mean, everyone was relieved," said Rashwan, his upper body covered in bruises including deep, purple patches on his arms.
"I walked away and I was hyperventilating. I was shivering," he said. At the time, he says he was unable to make a fist or stop shaking.
The next days, the men's father came into the restaurant to thank the staff for their actions, telling Rashwan that the youngest was recovering at home while the older brother remained in hospital being treated for pneumonia.
He believes the two men were fishing when the younger brother fell in the water. Rashwan said he thinks the older brother jumped into help get him out and said those actions likely saved his brother's life.
Hundreds of people have congratulated the team at Armando's Pizza for their quick action, crediting them with saving two lives ahead of the Christmas holidays.
"We were at the right place at the right time and anyone else could have done the same thing," said Rashwan.
"I have the best team and I have the best staff. Everyone here has a good heart."
Staff want more safety features added
John Smith, Windsor Fire & Rescue Service's acting chief fire prevention officer, said that people should stay away from the open shoreline even if they have a personal floatation device.
He added that water temperatures are around four degrees right now in the lakes and rivers, which can lead to hypothermia.
"The two males are, were lucky to have help nearby after entering the water," said Smith.
This isn't the first water rescue the team has jumped into action for.
In the summer, Rashwan said, a customer lost their footing while taking a photo and fell into the water and servers rushed out to help pull her back on to dry land.
Still processing the winter rescue, Rashwan suggested that the city should add a ladder to the marina to help people get out of the water along with putting a security guard on duty for faster responses.
His staff believe the city should consider putting a fence along the edge of the parking lot.
"This is not safe at all," said Rashwan.