Out-of-Town Firefighter Rescues Girl From Indy Canal

March 21--ANDERSON, Ind. -- A Richland Township firefighter made a splash in Indianapolis on Saturday when he came to the rescue of a 4-year-old-girl who fell into a canal.

Tony Short was walking along the canal with his fiancee and their new baby when Short heard a woman scream.

"I turned around and saw blond hair floating in the water, and automatically jumped in the canal," Short said.

Short said he didn't really think about it, and seconds later he was able to get the young girl out of the water.

He later learned the girl had been paddle boating with her family when she fell off the back.

She did not appear to have taken in any water, and her breathing was normal, he said; however, Short advised the girl's family she should be checked out at a hospital.

As Short got out of the canal, he was met with applause and praise from onlookers.

"Everyone was so stunned. One guy was like, 'That was so cool that you did that,'" he said.

Short was celebrating St. Patrick's Day downtown, partially because his fiancee had never walked on the canal before, and he wanted to show her the canal dyed green.

They had planned on eating dinner in the city, but with Short soaked in canal water, he decided to head back home.

As for his experience swimming in the canal?

"The water wasn't the best," Short said.

Short said he could touch the bottom with his feet, but with all the moss and other unknown items, he decided not to.

He has been a member of the Richland Township Volunteer Fire Department for nine months, but has 10 years of firefighting and emergency medical technician experience. Short said unfortunately he has had to rescue someone from drowning on two previous occasions; once when his soon-to-be stepson fell in a pool, and another time at Blue River in Shelby County.

Ben Norris, a fellow firefighter at Richland Township, said Short did exactly what he was trained to do.

"He showed what it is to be a firefighter/EMT by not hesitating and diving in to save that little girl's life," Norris said.

Contact Sam Brattain: 640-4883, [email protected]