A firefighter who waded into high seas in a vain bid to rescue Eryk Cieraszewski has been praised for his brave act.
The Kirkcaldy fireman, who has not been named by the service, entered the Firth of Forth despite ferocious waves crashing over the sea wall.
Wearing a survival suit and a lifejacket and attached to a safety line, the officer reached the tragic three-year-old at the same time as a coastguard rescue boat.
However, it was already too late and despite the best efforts of staff at Victoria Hospital, Eryk died.
Fife Fire and Rescue area manager Iain Vincent said: ”On seeing the waves coming in it was indeed a very brave act to do that.
”It took a lot of personal bravery because of the water conditions, not knowing the depth of the water and the swell.
”It was a very heroic act.”
The fire service sent two appliances from Kirkcaldy to the scene of Saturday afternoon’s tragedy, along with a specialist water rescue appliance from Glenrothes.
The Kirkcaldy crew was at the Esplanade within 90 seconds of receiving the call and parked on the shore.
Mr Vincent said: ”It became apparent very quickly the young child was in the water, not too far away from the actual sea wall.
”At that point the decision was taken by the officer in charge, because it was a young child involved, to enter the water as quickly as possible to effect rescue.
”A firefighter was dressed in a survival suit and a life jacket with a safety line and very quickly entered the water.”
He added: ”At that point the firefighter swam with the appropriate techniques we have been trained in.
”Simultaneously, the lifeboat from Kinghorn arrived at the scene and the boy was taken into the lifeboat and transferred into the ambulance.”
Mr Vincent said: ”The crews were all obviously a bit down because it was a young child and despite their efforts it was not a good conclusion.
”We have processes to deal with that and we offer people to speak to to make sure they are okay.”