Ice Rescue Techniques
The following photographs will display one technique of conducting an ice rescue. The MPSDA favors the use of ice rescue suits and line as a simple, non-equipment intensive, rapid form of deployment for the immediate, life-threatening situation an ice rescue presents. This is clearly not the only way to do a rescue. There are a number of pieces of equipment on the market that will do the job. Our position is that the ice rescue suit and a trained rescuer with line can be in many vehicles on the road, do not require special vehicles to transport equipment, and can be used by even non-swimmers.
Our recommmendation to all of our trainees is that the unit be kept in cruisers, fire trucks, and personal vehicles. In fact, we recommend to boaters (who have trained in ice rescues) who own survival suits, to keep them in their personal autos during the winter, rather than their cellars or garages. One never knows when he will be first on the scene.
The following is not intended, nor should it be construed to be, training. It is merely here for the purposes of information. We hope it may spark an interest in municipal administrators to provide for public safety at a very reasonable cost.
The first step is to approach the victim, calling to him, and assuring him that help is on the way.
The rescuer must stay low and distribute his weight in order to avoid breaking the ice and slowing himself down.
He should be tethered to shore to assist in the recovery of the victim as well as his own safety.
Once arriving at the hole, he must approach and enter the hole from the rear, since the victim is likely to be hanging on to the front edge of the ice shelf.
It is a tenuous hold on life and the rescuer should not disrupt that until he is prepared to secure the victim.
Once in the water, behind the victim, the rescuer secures a portion of his line around the victim, and signals the tenders on shore that they are now ready to be pulled in.
The victim and rescuer are pulled out together on the same line.
As much as the tenders want to get the victim out of the water, they must remember that the victim is extremely fragile at this point.
A cold heart is a very irritable heart, and as such, must be treated gently to avoid putting it into ventricular fibrillation.
As we pointed out at the beginning......do not try this at home! There is training available. Please write us for information. Even if your team is in the mid-west, south, or west...we can help you locate local trainers.