Recently we have seen stories on the news of people, vehicles and animals falling through the ice and being rescued. Some of these were fatal. Areas that allow ice skating will monitor ice formations to make sure they are safe to go on. There are many types of ice and thickness due to weather, temperature, and currents. With warmer and colder days sporadically appearing the ice may be safe one day and unsafe the next. Walking on ice is dangerous even if it is safe due to falls and concussions. We ask everyone who lives near these bodies of water to be cautious if you plan on venturing out for pleasure.

If you witness someone or an animal falling through the ice, call 911 immediately and do not attempt to rescue them unless you are trained to do so. Statistics show that many fatalities occur from would be rescuers becoming victims. Download the ice safety brochure courtesy of the Minnesota Dept of Natural Resources for a full summary of ice safety tips and suggestions for several types of ice related emergencies.

As emergency responders we take ice and water rescue training to respond to our local bodies of water. We also have a dive team that responds throughout the county for water emergencies. If you do fall thru the ice it is important to know how to self rescue. Check out this video of a self-rescue click on this link. By following safe practices while on ice, we hope you will never need to use this technique.

We are always looking for new members if this type of training intrigues you. Below are some pictures of our recent ice-rescue drill to refresh our members profisciency when called to an ice-rescue. If you live in our District and are inerested in joining, follow the link at https://www.cvfd-fire.org/join/apply/.