PARKER, Colo. — A Parker teenager remains hospitalized after falling through the ice and into a retention pond on Thursday.

First responders are now reflecting on the incident. It’s one they say they’ll never forget.

Several members of the South Metro Fire Rescue Dive Team are fathers themselves. But Lt. Dave Natomeli said that’s not something he focused on while trying to save the boys.

Instead, Natomeli said the crew was intent on getting to the boys as quickly as possible after learning they had been spotted alive.

He said that’s something that rarely happens. Usually, someone who falls through the ice is reported missing much later when it’s too late.

“It’s one of the first times as a dive team we’ve had a real good chance at a good outcome,” he said.

Upon arriving, police used a tree branch to pull one of the boys from the water, while firefighters focused on the other two boys. Both had lost consciousness. One of the teens, 16-year-old Patric Lantz, was at the bottom of the pond.

Still though, crews were hopeful. Natomeli said people have spent more than an hour under water and survived.

It took the team only 13 minutes to find Lantz and pull him to the surface thanks to a good eyewitness account of where he fell in.

“That’s big for us. We cannot see under the water. It’s dark,” Natomeli said.

Ultimately, Lantz didn’t make it. But his family said they’re forever thankful for the efforts of the firefighters who did everything they could.

“It’s terribly sad and our heart goes out to the families of these young men. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through,” Natomeli said.

Patric Lantz’s memorial service will be held Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial.