Firefighters Rescue Dog From Baltic Sea Ice

The news in Polish

1. Bałtyk  (m.)
   Morze na północy Polski i w Europie, nad którym leży wiele krajów, m.in. Polska, Niemcy, Szwecja. ↩︎
2. brzeg  (m.)
   Miejsce, gdzie kończy się woda i zaczyna ląd; krawędź morza, jeziora lub rzeki. ↩︎
3. wezwać
   Spowodować, że ktoś przyjdzie lub przyjedzie, zwykle dzwoniąc lub prosząc o pomoc. ↩︎
4. straż  (f.)
   Zorganizowana grupa ludzi, która pilnuje bezpieczeństwa lub chroni przed niebezpieczeństwem. ↩︎
5. wyciągnąć
   Pociągnąć coś lub kogoś na zewnątrz, na przykład z wody albo z dziury. ↩︎
6. odwiedzić
   Pójść lub pojechać do kogoś, żeby z nim pobyć przez jakiś czas. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What happened to the ice when the dog Zoja was running on it, and where did this happen?

Question 2: What did the firefighters do after they pulled Zoja out of the water?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
Bałtyk  (m.)	the Baltic Sea
brzeg  (m.)	shore
wezwać	to call (for help)
straż  (f.)	guard
wyciągnąć	to pull out
odwiedzić	to visit

Read the full story

Polish firefighters rescued a dog from broken sea ice after it fell into the freezing waters of the Baltic Sea near Pogorzelica, a coastal village in north‑western Poland.

According to local authorities, the incident happened during a Thursday walk along the beach. The dog, a female named Zoja, ran out onto the frozen surface of the Baltic Sea and moved far away from the shoreline. When she was about 100 metres from the shore, the ice suddenly broke under her weight and she fell into the water.

The owners, who stayed on land, could only watch as their pet struggled in the icy sea. They called the emergency services, and firefighters from the Volunteer Fire Brigade (Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna) in Niechorze were sent to the scene. Reports from regional profiles and local media describe the situation as extremely urgent, because in such cold water an animal can become exhausted and hypothermic very quickly.

The rescuers used special ice rescue sleds to move across the fragile surface. They had to work carefully, as the ice could also break under them. Step by step, they reached the hole in the ice where Zoja was struggling to stay afloat. Firefighters then pulled the dog out of the water and placed her safely on the sled.

After the rescue, Zoja was taken straight to the heated cabin of the fire engine. There, firefighters dried and warmed her before returning her to her owners, who were waiting nearby. Local sources state that the dog survived the incident and did not suffer serious injuries, largely thanks to the speed of the emergency response.

The story did not end on the beach. The following day, during a meeting at the Niechorze fire station, Zoja and her owners visited the firefighters. Local media describe this as a symbolic way of thanking the rescuers for saving the dog from the icy water. The sight of a healthy, energetic Zoja was reported as a positive conclusion to what had been a dangerous situation.

Polish regional channels and online portals highlighted the event both as an example of professional animal rescue on ice and as a reminder of the risks connected with walking on frozen sea or lake surfaces. Even when a winter seems cold and the ice looks thick, conditions on large bodies of water such as the Baltic Sea can be unpredictable and unstable. Services therefore warn that people and their pets should avoid entering frozen water areas, especially far from the shore.

For readers unfamiliar with Poland, Pogorzelica is a small seaside resort on the Baltic coast, in the West Pomeranian region. Volunteer fire brigades like the one in Niechorze are a common part of the Polish emergency system and frequently take part in water and ice rescues as well as fires and road accidents.

In this case, reports from different Polish sources are consistent: the rescue operation was fast, the dog was successfully recovered from the water, and the event finished with a safe reunion between Zoja and her owners. The coverage also underlines a broader safety message about the dangers of thin ice in winter, for both people and animals.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish through various types of online courses, where each Polish language course is designed to support learners at different levels and with different study goals.