QUINTE WEST ? It was a dramatic rescue like no other in recent memory.

Using canoes, hip-waders and flashlights, Quinte West firefighters managed to pull two 18-year-old Colborne men from the middle of a swamp off of Philburn Road, late Saturday, after the pair spent more than five hours trapped in shoulder-deep mud with temperatures dipping close to -10 C.

The pair ? who were taken to Belleville hospital for treatment of severe hypothermia ? said they were taking a short cut to a party when they got lost in two-metre high cattails and began to sink in the muddy water.

According to witnesses milling about the scene as teams of firefighters waded into the swamp ? which is a wetland project for Ducks Unlimited between Philburn Road and Sidney Street ? a woman who let her dog out for the night around 11 p.m. heard screams for help coming from the area.

"She heard some kids hollering for help, and followed the screams to the edge of the swamp," explained a neighbour at the scene.

"From there, she ran back to her home and called 911."

Officers and ambulance personnel arrived on scene and immediately requested the assistance of firefighters.

Clad in hip waders, several firefighter search parties took turns venturing out into the area using canoes borrowed from a nearby homeowner, who happened to be a firefighter, explained Deputy Chief John Whelan.

Starting out in knee-deep water, Whelan said the frigid mud eventually rose to waist-level a short distance from shore, making the rescue effort more treacherous.

"Once they left the shore, there was virtually no visibility whatsoever because the cattails are so high," he said. "And the mud is so thick... you can literally get sucked right under."

Considering the height of the cattails, Whelan said "you can get lost and very disoriented out there, especially in this cold (weather). Your sense of direction can get thrown off very easily... especially at night."

When the first male was found and pulled from the muck about 300 metres from shore around 1 a.m., the grip of the mud tore off the teenager's pants, Whelan said.

While the first male was treated on shore by paramedics before being loaded into a waiting ambulance, another team quickly assembled.

Firefighters ventured back into the darkness of the cattails to rescue the second male, this time aided by utility lights beaming into the swamp from shore.

Using a canoe as a makeshift gurney, the team of eight firefighters located the second man a short time later and slowly began pushing him to shore in the canoe.

Twenty minutes after the first male was rushed to hospital, flickering flashlights could be seen cutting through the thick reeds as the team headed to shore, prompting many onlookers lining the road to erupt in cheers.

The canoe carrying the second male ? who was wrapped in a firefighter's coat and helmet ? was carried to a second ambulance waiting nearby.

Mumbling incoherently and staring around blankly as emergency personnel buzzed around him, the man was stripped of the coat and his remaining soaked clothes, wrapped in blankets and put in the ambulance to be taken to hospital.

During the rescue, two firefighters had to be treated with oxygen, Whelan added.

"Some of our guys couldn't feel their legs because of the cold.

"These two are very lucky to be alive," Whelan said. "This could have easily gone the other way, and we could be pulling two bodies from this swamp if they had been out there all night."

Police ? who acknowledge that no firearms, weapons or burglary tools were found at the scene ? were hoping to speak with the pair some time today.

Anyone who noticed suspicious activity in the area over the past week is asked to call Quinte West police at 392-3535 or Crimestoppers at 969-8477.

© Copyright 2001 Belleville Intelligencer