Scary Chapter for 'Sex and the City' Writer

Candace Bushnell, the writer behind the HBO hit series "Sex and the City," ran into the frozen waters of Sagg Pond on Wednesday afternoon to rescue one of her two dogs, which had walked out on the ice and fallen through, but had to retreat before she could reach the animal. She was taken about an hour later to Southampton Hospital after a volunteer firefighter saved the dog.

Bridgehampton Fire Department Chief Jeff White said the department received a 911 call reporting a dog in the water. The firefighter, Christian Topping, was working on his Bridgehampton horse farm on Halsey Lane when his pager went off around 2:30 p.m.

"I headed down," he said Friday. "I was thinking, what is the easiest way to get there?" The Bridge Lane bridge is closed for repairs, and he decided to get to the pond via the end of Surfside Drive.

Even that route was not so easy, he said, because a homeowner had blocked the access several years ago. Mr. Topping had to abandon his vehicle and get there on foot. He could see Ms. Bushnell on the other side of the pond, he said. "I had my waders with me," he said. He had been duck hunting that morning.

He ran around the pond to reach her. Ms. Bushnell pointed out the dog, which had fallen through quite a distance from shore. "It was floundering around," Mr. Topping said. He tried walking out on the ice to reach the animal, only to fall through himself, in water about four feet deep. Looking back where he'd come from, however, he spotted a kayak near the shore and fought his way back to it. He was then able to reach the dog and return it to its owner. The entire rescue took about 45 minutes, he said.

Both of the dogs were taken to a veterinary hospital.

While the fire chief declined to identify Ms. Bushnell, she mentioned the rescue in a post on her Instagram account on Thursday. "Thank you, thank you 2 everyone who helped rescue Pepper from the icy depths of Sagaponack Pond. Both dogs home and ok," she wrote, adding three heart emojis. Ms. Bushnell has a house in Sag Harbor Village.

Chief White complimented Mr. Topping on the rescue, adding a cautionary note to the public: During these times of fluctuating temperatures, it is best to stay off the ice.