officer michael la mancha and his nypd emergency rescue unit are working at a car accident just blocks away. they're able to get to the pond within minutes. along with la mancha, fellow officers bill fisher mike mcnamara pump up an inflatable life raft, quickly get their cold weather survival suits on, and race to the ice. what the officers see and hear as they approach the kids only increases the urgency. >> screaming their heads off for help. help me, help me, i can't hold on. i can't hold on. >> i said, hold on to the ice. a piece would come off and they'd grab another piece. >> knowing the ice is unstable, the officers inch out cautiously. >> we didn't know how bad they were. i mean, it had to be ten minutes? that's a long time to be sitting in ice water. >> the children are losing their strength. the water lowering their body temperatures so much, they can barely move. hypothermia is setting in. >> anything less than 100% rescue for five children is a tragedy. it's a complete tragedy. if you don't do your job to the best that you were trained with no hesitation, a child will die. >> as fisher, la mancha, and mcnamara approach for the rescue, they lay on their stomachs to distribute