OXFORD — David Knightly, 60, of Oxford will get to celebrate Christmas this year.

He was kayaking in flood waters Tuesday with two others when they ran into serious trouble.

Kayaking in flood waters behind the strawberry fields on Skeetfield Road in Oxford, Knightly’s kayak tipped and dumped him into the icy water, according to Oxford Police Chief Rickie Jack.

“The fire department was on it,” Jack said. “Two firefighters went in and got him out. I transported him back to the road to the waiting ambulance. He was clinging to a tree when they got to him…the water was over his head.”

According to Jack, the Maine Warden Service, Oxford Police, Fire and Rescue responded to the scene.