(Ice) Rescue Me

Fresh off a grueling four-day academy in Keene, New Hampshire, Jay Selmer was eager to get fellow Haddam firefighters up to speed on the latest ice rescue techniques.

There was just one problem: No ice.

While 2012’s mild winter was frustrating from a training perspective, the recent cold snap bodes well for Jay and ice fisherman everywhere.

The deep freeze can’t come soon enough: Jay has an ice rescue class scheduled on Feb. 9 for members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co.  The one-day course will focus on surface rescue for cold water and ice incidents, emphasizing personal survival and safety of the rescuer. Participants receive a certification good for five years.

Jay earned his instructor certification last winter with six other students from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Virginia and Canada. New instructors are certified to teach Ice Rescue Awareness, Operations and Technician level courses – everything from starting the rescue chain to shore-based rescue techniques to removing conscious and unconscious victims from ice and open water.

“Personally, I enjoy a good challenge and saw it as an opportunity to expand my rescue skills,” Jay says. “Upon doing research, I also discovered that this certification was lacking in Middlesex County.”

Having an Ice Rescue Instructor is a huge benefit to the Fire Company and community.

Ice rescues are notoriously difficult. Rescue workers must approach the victim quickly, carefully, assessing the victim’s level of consciousness and awareness. A coordinated team performs the rescue from on and off shore. Rescuers must get to the hole in the ice, go into the water, retrieve the victim and pull them to safety.

The Fire Company is equipped with 10 Cold Water/Ice Rescue suits, all with ice picks and helmets. The suits are designed to compress around skin and hold in body temperature. In addition, there are Personal Flotation Devices, a Rescue Alive flotation sled specially designed for ice or open water rescue, and day-to-day rescue equipment carried on the trucks like ladders, backboards, ropes, webbing and pike poles.

Haddam and surrounding towns feature a number of bodies of water that are used during winter months for skating, ice fishing and other recreational activities. Ponds are the safest option because they don’t have a current that can push a victim under and trap them beneath the ice. Those who ice fish on rivers should be more wary. Fast-moving currents can weaken areas of ice.

While the general rule of thumb is don’t attempt to walk on ice that isn’t clear and at least four inches thick, First Responders ask that you use common sense. Ice doesn't form in a uniform thickness everywhere on a body of water, so be smart and selective about where you go.

Of course, rescuers don’t typically work on sturdy ice. If the ice is weak enough for you to fall through, it will obviously give them some trouble, too.

Even though hypothermia occurs in minutes (see graphic), most people who die after falling through ice drown rather than succumb to hypothermia. That’s because after about five minutes in frigid water – depending on age, fitness and other variables – a person may lose the strength needed to keep their head above water.

The Fire Company asks anyone who witnesses an ice-related emergency to stay at the point they last saw the person, dial 911 and guide rescuers as they arrive. People will often try to extend a rope or branch, but if the person is far off-shore, the safest option is to stay off the ice until help arrives, shouting encouragement from a distance. In North America, for every victim that is successfully rescued, two rescuers are lost. Too often these are Good Samaritans who end up as victims themselves. Trained personnel are statistically much more likely to effect a successful rescue.

Thanks to Jay, 10 more firefighters will soon be trained should you or your pet ever get into a dicey, icy situation.


For more information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved, visit our website www.HaddamFire.com, or look for us on Facebook.