Concord River Rescue Effort Turns Out To Be A False Alarm

CONCORD, NH — Concord fire and rescue teams, as well as the police, spent about 30 minutes on Thursday searching for a person reportedly falling through the ice in the area of Interstate 393 and the New Hampshire Technical Institute, Concord’s community college, after receiving a call that turned out to be a false alarm.

Around 2:45 p.m., capital region fire dispatch received a call from a witness reporting a person falling through the ice on the Merrimack River. The caller was driving west on Interstate 393. Dispatch requested firefighters, ambulances, and fire department boats to the area.

A firefighter traveling in an engine on I-393 east at the time, over the Merrimack, said they did not see ice or anyone in the river. The firefighter told dispatch they did see an ice fisherman by NHTI. The body of water, Fort Eddy Pond, was frozen.

Boats were told to go to the Everett Arena and launch from there, while Concord police also began checking water areas along the Merrimack River south of the highway. Bow firefighters also prepared to assist with the search in Concord.

Police, however, reported seeing no one in the water.

Firefighters and EMTs arrived at NHTI and began searching the area, but nothing was found.

Firefighters at the Fort Eddy boat ramp spoke to a person with a dog who said the dog had been in the water earlier. They left the area later.

Other firefighters visited the pond, which was frozen, and spoke to an ice fisherman. He reported seeing no one fall through the pond.

Having not found anyone, firefighters determined the caller was speaking about the fisherman on the pond or the dog in the water and mistakenly believed someone had fallen through the ice. Firefighters then cleared the area.

The ice fisherman, Frank, told Patch he had been fishing there for about two hours after work. He joked the caller must have been “a flatlander” who had never seen anyone fishing on the ice before. Frank said he had caught two black crappies while fishing on the pond.

While in the area searching the waterways, fire and rescue teams, as well as police, were also sent to crashes on Hopkinton Road and Loudon Road.

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