Every year, the frozen lakes of the North pose challenges for emergency teams called in to rescue people or animals on thin ice.

But this is the first time we've heard about innovative firefighters using a technique from an Olympic sport.

Worried locals in Minnesota called the Prior Lake Fire Department after they spied a large deer stuck on Pike Lake.

The animal could not stand up on the slippery surface of the ice and its legs were poking holes into the frigid lake.

The firefighters arrived and devised a plan to use a curling technique to push the deer to shore using a Y-shaped pole.

First, they had to reach the animal by crawling on their hands and knees.

The city of Prior Lake described the heroic incident on Instagram.

"It was struggling to get off of the thin ice. Firefighters put on their protective gear and carefully crawled across the ice. They were successfully able to push the deer to shore."

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