Fenton Firefighters Train for Ice Rescues

Though they’ve never had to put it to use, the Fenton Fire Protection District (FFPD) firefighters can drag you to shore if you fall through the ice.

Several firefighters took part in ice rescue training last Thursday at Preslar Lake, in the Fabick Nature Preserve, near Fenton City Park. And while outside temperatures hovered in the low teens, the assembled first responders were as cool as ice as they carried out their training.

After firefighter Mike Martin, clad in an orange colored wet suit, crawled about 20 feet from shore and entered the lake through a previously cut hole, he bobbed up and down in more than 10 feet of water, with our and one-half inch thick ice surrounding him.

In seconds Capt. Tony Watson crawled outto Martin carrying a black, nylon rescue rope. Approaching from behind Martin, Watson attached the rope and gave a signal to firefighters on shore to pull Martin and himself out.  From the time Watson crawled onto the ice until he and the victim were pulled ashore, less than one minute had elapsed.

Teeth not even chattering, Martin stood on shore following his "rescue," insisting he was warmer in the wet suit than his fellow firefighters, who weree clad in their turnout gear, since Martin waterproof suit featured a hood, gloves and boots, completely sealing him in. The suits also are buoyant so there is little chance for the rescuer to sink.

Deputy Chief Rob Odenwald said that almost all of the 26 square-mile FFPD area’s three dozen lakes, private ponds, retention ponds and other small bodies of water are covered with ice and that, coupled with the warming temperatures, makes it a dangerous time for anyone to be testing the frozen waters.

It only takes a couple of days with the sun beating on the ice and temperatures just above freezing to soften it up and create a life-threatening hazard, Odenwald said.

“It all depends on the weight of the person going out there too,” he said. “But most of the ice is snow covered and it may be spidered out with cracks underneath. The heavier the person is the more dangerous it’s going to be.”

Odenwald said that although the department has yet to use its training in a real situation “we’re going to be ready if we have to.”

“We just got these suits about two weeks ago but we’ve done quite a bit of training,” he said. “Everybody has had the opportunity so all 54 members have been through the training.”

All of the FFPD trucks are outfitted with wet suits and ropes, he added.

“The idea is if we do get an ice rescue call when they get of the truck they’ll be in the suit and get right in to what we have to do,” Odenwald said.

Martin, who played the role of victim to Watson’s rescuer, said a person falling through the ice can survive 20 to 30 minutes in the water. However, the main thing is for the person to remain calm and not expend a lot of energy flailing about.

Of equal importance, Martin added, is if a second person is on shore when someone falls through ice, that person should resist the urge to jump into the water to save the victim and instead call 911 and maintain constant eye contact at all times with the victim. That way, if the victim goes under the ice the person on shore can relay to first responders where they last saw the victim.