Firefighters say “stay off the ice”

On average, more than three thousand people drown a year in the U.S. Some of those incidents are simply from falling through thin ice.

Firefighters say there is a major difference between falling in warm water and falling into a frozen lake. Your body will begin to shut down because of the temperature.

Dover Fire Chief Mark Hall says,” Vasoconstriction and basically what that does is it constricts your arteries and your veins pumping the blood to your heart.”

Vasoconstriction creates what firefighters call a hypothermic set in, shutting down the muscles in your body.

The Dover Fire Department says the most common reaction when someone falls through ice is panic, which is actually the worst thing to do.

Sean Byron, a firefighter with the Dover Fire Department says, “Stay calm, the less you move and fight us the easier it’s going to be to get us out plain and simple.”

During a rescue, crews wear an ice commander suit. The suit literally has all the bells and whistles so that firefighters won’t freeze when trying to save someone else. However, they won’t immediately jump in the water unless it’s necessary.

First, they try to use a life saver and an ice sled designed for rescues on weak ice.

The sled has a pulley system inside. It helps the victims out of the ice and helps the firefighters with the weight of the victim.

Firefighters say there are places deemed safe for skating on ponds and lakes, but those are approved by the fire department, Fire Marshall and City. For any other place the best advise is to stay off the ice.