The Kansasville Fire & Rescue Department (KFRD) is hosting this valuable training which was made possible by a sponsorship from Educators Credit Union, to better prepare personnel and provide the training necessary to affect a rescue in a true emergency.
“With temperatures on the rise over the past several days, area lakes that were frozen last week are now starting to thaw, this can be very dangerous to anyone out on area lakes”, said KFRD Assistant Chief Matt Callies.
Ice Rescue calls are what many refer to as, “low frequency/high risk” situations. Firefighter/EMT Ryan Hoover explained it like this: “Obviously people aren’t falling through the ice all the time, but it’s something that when it does happen, we have to be ready and able to respond quickly. Being able to go out there and train, to get our gumby suits on and go out on the ice and go through the various scenarios of rescuing somebody is critical to what we do. It makes us better; it makes our citizens safer. This training will help prepare us to respond to those “high risk” rescues. It’s what we do.”
“The evolutions we’ll be going through are scenarios of situations we could actually be responding to, and we’ll be responding as if we were responding to an actual call for emergency services,” said KFRD Chief Ron Molnar.
Kansasville Fire & Rescue, along with emergency responders across the area, reminds residents to take these safety precautions when outdoors this winter:
Pay close attention to changing ice conditions. Stay off thin ice.
Wear appropriate outdoor clothing; layers of light, warm clothing, gloves/mittens, hats, scarves, and waterproof boots.
Be aware of the wind chill factor and work slowly during outdoor chores.
Take a “buddy” and an emergency kit when you are participating in outdoor recreation, especially when going out onto the ice.
Carry a cell phone or other means of communication.