Firefighters rescue engagement ring from storm drain

Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A group of New York firefighters came to the rescue of a couple whose New Year's Eve engagement ended with the ring falling down a grate.

Danny Tay and Asha Cesar said they were returning to their car after a stroke of midnight proposal in Prospect Park when the engagement ring fell off Cesar's finger.

"The ring was loose and I was going to open the car door and I just saw it fly off of my finger and fall right here under this grate, this water basin," Cesar told WABC-TV. "And it was just sheer panic. Sheer chaos. Danny was silent for a good hour and half it felt like."

The couple attempted to fish for the ring, which was about five feet under the grate, but they were unable to reach it. They went to a nearby fire station to ask for help.

"We just looked so pathetic," Cesar said. "It's freezing. It's 4 o'clock on the morning. It's New Year's."

The crew of FDNY Engine 249 gathered up some coat hangers and duct tape and headed to the scene.

"I got it on the edge and she was like 'oh my goodness I'm gonna cry' and I told her don't cry yet because I might drop it," firefighter Peter Morawek said. "And I dropped it."

Morawek was able to fish the ring out on his second attempt.

"I put it in my hand and I told the husband to 'step away from the grate sir,' and brought him away from the grate and handed it off to him," Morawek said.