Mass. girl helps 5-year-old neighbor who fell down a well

An 11-year-old girl is being praised for her quick thinking after helping a 5-year-old who fell into a well on Friday.

Jack Bissais was playing in his front yard in Tyngsborough, Mass. when he stepped onto a well cover that collapsed, sending him 20-feet into the well, WCVB reported.

“I heard a scream that I’ve never heard before from my son,” Jack’s mother, Kathleen Freeman, told KALB. 

Freeman rushed to see what had happened, and discovered the child was inside the well. To comfort him, she stayed near the well so he could see her, and began to yell for help, KALB reported.  

After hearing Jack and his mother’s screams, neighbor Juliana Fischer, 11, called 911 and found a ladder to help the boy climb out, according to WCVB. 

“While she was talking to 911, I saw the ladder over there. My dad went and got a rope. By the time we got a ladder down there, he started to climb up,” Fischer told WCVB. 

When EMTs arrived, Jack was reportedly already safe. He was brought to Lowell General Hospital to ensure he was not injured, and returned home later unscathed, according to WCVB.

“He was really brave, and I’m so thankful for Juliana. It was a very good feeling when he got out of the well,” Freeman told KALB.

Responding crews put a heavy metal plate with bricks on top of the well until a permanent solution is implemented, according to KALB. 

A quick-acting 11-year-old in Tyngsboro saves a five-year-old after he falls into a water well.

This incident could’ve been much more serious, but now both have back-to-school stories with good endings. pic.twitter.com/xZFVqql6d4

— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) August 16, 2025

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