A woman would have drowned in the icy Red River Tuesday morning were it not for two men from Steinbach.

Racka Roofing employee Mike Girardin says it was a gusty day in Selkirk where he and his associate Jesse Reimer were blanketing an apartment complex in 600 bundles of shingles. To avoid the harsh winds, the two men decided to momentarily descend from the roof and tidy up their job site, roughly 130 yards from the river.

“That’s when we heard a woman screaming,” recalls Girardin. “We didn’t know what it was at first, but when we walked towards the sound to investigate we quickly found out that there was a lady in great danger, she was hanging onto the ledge for her life.”

(Photo of the pier near Dufferin Avenue taken in spring)

The incident happened near Dufferin Avenue, a city roadway that intersects with a pier when it hits the river. As Girardin was later told, the woman, a mother of four named Teresa, had been trying to take a picture of the Red River when she slipped on a small patch of ice and fell off of the pier into the water. She remained in the river, mostly submerged, for several minutes shouting for help and floating downstream.

As soon as they recognized that the shape in the water was a person, Girardin and Reimer began sprinting. “The adrenaline kicked in and we just ripped her out of the water,” says Girardin “and when all three of us stood up on the ice, we all fell through.”

Girardin says they were all able to help each other to safety by using a small ice ledge near the shore. “We did kind of put ourselves in danger," he admits, "but in the end, everyone went home safe.”

Teresa, who had lost all feeling in her hands and legs, was carried by her rescuers to her vehicle to warm up. Paramedics quickly arrived and took her to the hospital to assess her for hypothermia. She was released soon after.

The following day, she returned to the job site where Girardin and Reimer were once again shingling the apartment complex. “She came back to visit us,” shares Girardin, “and we all took a picture together.”

Teresa, it seems, wanted a lasting memento of the two men whom she is convinced saved her life.