Did some ice rescue training yesterday.

[fudgie]

Which is a major feat for me since I do not know how to swim or go into the water. Ice even scares me the most.
It was awesome. Each county FD purchased a set of Ice rescue gear and we attended a certified technical ice rescue class all day Sat. I was nervous of course since I cant swim.
I donned the suit and floated out in the water to catch the rope throw bags. I had a hell of a time trying to get my feet down. Instructor had me float over to the ice and push my lower half under the ice and then get my feet down. It worked. Now I was a bobber in the pond! Then I had to use ice picks and get up on the ice. Then had to crawl out and rescue a vic from a hole we cut in the ice, which was about 6" thick. He was on the ice hole edge. Then we had to rescue a floater, which is EMS terms for a body floating in the water. Had to jump/slid into the hole and drag him out. I was in the water maybe a 1/2 hour and my feet were getting a little chilled. It was 33 deg out, water alot less. Instructor said he spent a straight 10 hours in the water once. It sucked he said. We learned how to read what the ice is telling us which was very informative. By the time we finished a few hours later the ice had drasticly changed.

[Jeff K]

I went through thin ice on a snowmobile with my father. It was in about 12 feet of water. I was pissed off more than I was scared. It was VERY FN cold. I only had a coat and some cotton gloves on, My father had a full snowmobile suit on. We were cruising slow on the ice, it was so clear you could see the stumps and fish scattering. I noticed that the ice was beginning to bow with our weight. As I was starting to dismount to lighten the load, it went through. I swam to the edge of the hole and put my arms on the ice and kept breaking it off till it could hold my weight. I slide out of the hole and looked back, my dad was kinda floating and he was trying to get out, we both got out ourselves but were now standing soaking wet out in the middle of the lake.
A kid on a hopped up race sled pulled up and said "ya know... that was open water just last night..." no crap?
We all three got on his sled, quite a challenge, I had thrown my soaked gloves off after climbing out of the water so I was soaked and bare handed, and I was now on the back of this rocket holding on to a metal bar bare handed flying across the ice, up the boat ramp and down the middle of the road at blinding speed. All the while I was thinking "if we crash all my meat is going to shatter" he ran the road a couple of miles to my dads house. I was never so cold in my entire life. It was below 0 that day and I was under dressed for sledding not to mention sledding wet.
Joanne had to  get my clothes off, the zippers were all frozen and my fingers were too cold to help.
After we warmed up, my dad said... we have to go mark the hole... WTH? Really? So we rigged up a bleach bottle and an anchor and went back out to the ice. Oddly enough the cops were there waiting for us.

My dad and his chief engineer went back out the next day and pulled the sled out of the water. I had to go back to Indiana so I did "get" to help.
They laid out sheets of plywood on the thin ice and pushed a john boat out, broke up the ice and by then they had a crowd of ice fishermen wondering what they were doing. They hooked the front skis and pulled it up. I really wished i could have seen that.

The sled was never the same.

[B]

Which is a major feat for me since I do not know how to swim or go into the water. Ice even scares me the most.
It was awesome. Each county FD purchased a set of Ice rescue gear and we attended a certified technical ice rescue class all day Sat. I was nervous of course since I cant swim.
I donned the suit and floated out in the water to catch the rope throw bags. I had a hell of a time trying to get my feet down. Instructor had me float over to the ice and push my lower half under the ice and then get my feet down. It worked. Now I was a bobber in the pond! Then I had to use ice picks and get up on the ice. Then had to crawl out and rescue a vic from a hole we cut in the ice, which was about 6" thick. He was on the ice hole edge. Then we had to rescue a floater, which is EMS terms for a body floating in the water. Had to jump/slid into the hole and drag him out. I was in the water maybe a 1/2 hour and my feet were getting a little chilled. It was 33 deg out, water alot less. Instructor said he spent a straight 10 hours in the water once. It sucked he said. We learned how to read what the ice is telling us which was very informative. By the time we finished a few hours later the ice had drasticly changed.

SWEET!
Missed ice rescue this year due to my 'fulltime' job getting in the way of my  FD Trg    

You FD , Fudgie? or is EMS separated there? (Most cities up here are combined; ours isn't)

[fudgie]

Which is a major feat for me since I do not know how to swim or go into the water. Ice even scares me the most.
It was awesome. Each county FD purchased a set of Ice rescue gear and we attended a certified technical ice rescue class all day Sat. I was nervous of course since I cant swim.
I donned the suit and floated out in the water to catch the rope throw bags. I had a hell of a time trying to get my feet down. Instructor had me float over to the ice and push my lower half under the ice and then get my feet down. It worked. Now I was a bobber in the pond! Then I had to use ice picks and get up on the ice. Then had to crawl out and rescue a vic from a hole we cut in the ice, which was about 6" thick. He was on the ice hole edge. Then we had to rescue a floater, which is EMS terms for a body floating in the water. Had to jump/slid into the hole and drag him out. I was in the water maybe a 1/2 hour and my feet were getting a little chilled. It was 33 deg out, water alot less. Instructor said he spent a straight 10 hours in the water once. It sucked he said. We learned how to read what the ice is telling us which was very informative. By the time we finished a few hours later the ice had drasticly changed.

SWEET!
Missed ice rescue this year due to my 'fulltime' job getting in the way of my  FD Trg    

You FD , Fudgie? or is EMS separated there? (Most cities up here are combined; ours isn't)

Its separated in this county. I work for a hospital based EMS and then on a vol FD. Mostly the big cities here are together. Alot of Vol FD have a bls unit, but not alot. Our Vol FD did about 150 runs and our EMS does about 3700. So far for EMS we are near 700 runs since Jan 1st.

[B]

We're about the same... 160-170, Fire&Rescue only.

[Spirited-6]

Brian, for a guy that can`t swim, you did a HELL OF A JOB. 

[Jess from VA]

I've been thru the ice before too (lake Erie).  It was nose deep, and I was a kid.  I bounced over to a dock ladder and climbed out. 

If deep, most die because they cannot get back on the ice.... keeps breaking off, and slippery wet with no traction.  Worse is if current takes you under solid ice.

I did not bother taking off my clothes, I sprinted to the house, kicked off my boots, and jumped in a warm shower fully clothed.  My little weenie disappeared entirely for a while.     

Hey Fudgie, was this you?

[Dave Ritsema]

Very cool fudgie, have taken that class several times also, and done my time in a gumby suit. lol

Next ya gotta try ice diving. You should see the ice fishermen drop their gear and run when a black gloved hand comes shooting up out of their ice fishing hole! 

[Madmike]

There was a male Australian nurse that went through the sea ice here around New Years.  He was riding a snowmobile out around the point and fell through and then had to walk about a mile into town.  Lucky it wasn't colder and he was able to climb out over the machine.  They willtry and get it out next summer I guess.

[Big IV]

That is not a job I'd want in real life, but the training sure sounds like fun. I am glad other people are trained and ready for such situations.

[czuch]

Thank you Fudgie. Youre a hero. Hope ya never need it and it was just a good time with a story.
34 years ago I remembersomething about cold water and BUDS but that was along time ago.

[B]

That is not a job I'd want in real life, but the training sure sounds like fun. I am glad other people are trained and ready for such situations.

Ya ... some think we're not too bright jumpin thru the ice and running into burning buildings (unfortunately not usually in that order)       ... these ARE some of the same adrenaline junkies that ride home on those Flat6 Fat Girls (always at the speed limit, of course)   

[Jabba]

I have a question... being the engineer that I am and all...

if the water was "A LOT colder than 33 degrees" wouldn't it have been solid ice?

I am not sayin'... I'm just sayin'.
 

Glad it was cool Brian.  I too have been thru the ice.  Although for me it was only about chest deep.  I did have a mile walk home and it was about 10 degrees out.  Maybe less.  I know my pants were frozen solid by the time I got home.

Jabba

[fudgie]

I have a question... being the engineer that I am and all...

if the water was "A LOT colder than 33 degrees" wouldn't it have been solid ice?

I am not sayin'... I'm just sayin'.
 

Yes it would. He had a pond arriator that he turned off that morning.