Right place at the right time: CFD’s Carol Henke saves little girl from drowning

CALGARY – The Calgary Fire Department’s Carol Henke is usually taking questions from reporters about working fires and CFD goings-on, but today, she is at the centre of the story.

Henke, a public information officer with the department, was out for a walk in Stanley Park with a coworker Tuesday afternoon to enjoy a quick coffee break in the sun.

During their walk, Henke noticed a girl in trouble in the Elbow River.

“I could tell that she was in trouble–she was struggling, she couldn’t stand up, she couldn’t get her footing, she kept rolling in the water,” explained the quick-acting Henke.

“She wasn’t calling for help or anything. She was just struggling and taking in water so I ran in and pulled her out.”

EMS was called and paramedics came to assess the girl, who was with her daycare group at the park. Henke said the little girl was conscious but coughing due to the mouthfuls of water she inhaled during her struggle in the water. She was taken to the hospital for further assessment.

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‘The rescue was incredible’ says coworker who witnessed it all

Jimmy Sadden is the colleague who was on the walk with Henke when she jumped into the river to save the girl.

“There were children playing on the bank of the river and the next thing I know I see Carol drop everything–her phone, her coffee–and just start running toward the water,” shared Sadden.

“She saw a child being carried and going under the water… [The girl] got caught in the current.”

Sadden said Henke was the only one who noticed the girl, who he estimates was about six years old, going under.

“Nobody noticed… Carol ran from the path–I’d have to say maybe close to 80 metres– down the hill, through the water, and ran right to the child. You could see the child struggling to stay afloat and just getting caught up in the current and being carried down the river,” recalled Sadden.

“The rescue was incredible, Carol was incredible, but the compassion and the way she comforted the child and even everyone else around… was really something remarkable.”

Henke warns there ‘could’ve been a much more tragic outcome’

Henke was in the right place at the right time, but both she and Sadden agree it could’ve easily been worse.

“It really reinforces just how quickly these things can happen. Really another minute and the outcome might’ve been completely different,” said Henke.

“When children are near water, you always, always have to have your eye on them… It’s so important to make safety the number one thing.”

She explained even if the water isn’t very deep, it doesn’t take much for a kid to slip under.

“We know that children can drown in very little water. The river isn’t very high, but the rocks are slippery, there’s a current in the middle and it just could’ve been a much more tragic outcome,” she said.

“Safety has to be everyone’s number one concern when you’re near water and when you have young children near water.”

Sadden said both Henke and EMS spoke to the group the girl was with to reinforce safety messaging.

“Where there’s water, there’s a risk,” he said.

-with files from Chris Bowen