The young boy was playing outside while his family worked in the barn. When they noticed he was missing, his grandfather went looking and found him floating in two feet of water around the liquid manure pit. He was under water for about 10 minutes, estimated East Hawkesbury Fire Chief Yvon Sauvé.

"The kid was lying on a table in the kitchen when we arrived. He was cold to the touch," Sauvé said, the first rescue worker to reach the child.

They administered oxygen and the toddler woke up and started crying, Sauvé said. Ambulance workers arrived, and the boy was eventually transported by helicopter to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) where he slipped into a coma.

Sauvé said since the manure pit was not cement, a protective fence was not required.

According to the Farm Safety Association, open manure ponds should be fenced in at all times if possible. Open lagoons can appear deceptively solid during warm weather and lure the curious out onto the surface.

"This is the first time in 20 years as fire chief anything like this has happened to me. I hope it never happens again," Sauvé said.