{"id":13405,"date":"2020-03-04T22:27:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T02:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=13405"},"modified":"2020-03-04T22:27:28","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T02:27:28","slug":"first-responders-showcase-ice-rescue-safety-importance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=13405","title":{"rendered":"First responders showcase ice rescue safety importance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>FALL RIVER:<\/strong> Firefighters\nfrom Station 45 in Fall River along with Halifax District RCMP and Canadian Red\nCross officials showed the importance of a quick response in the event of a fall\nthrough many of the lakes and ponds in the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Lake Thomas behind Inn on the Lake, RCMP Const. Michael Elms donned the gear he needed to play victim of a fall through ice while career firefighters stood at the ready to practice the technique of an ice rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> [adrotate banner=&#8221;17&#8243;] <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_4595-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13513\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Scott Shaffner with Halifax Regional Fire said its\nprudent people should be using caution all the time when checking the ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou never know what the ice is going to be like, especially\nhere in N.S.,\u201d said Shaffner. \u201cWe get a lot of cold weather, a lot of warm\nweather so it\u2019s never consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said HRM has a system in place where they do check the ice at various locations across the municipality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_4670-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13517\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A perfect example of varying ice thickness was the initial\nlocation the demonstration was going to happen in Waverley&#8211;the ice was too\nthick for them to do the demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was 18 inches thick there and here in Fall River the\nlake is open with water visible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shaffner said caution is number one priority all the\ntime for people out and about on the lakes and rivers in the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t like to respond to ice rescues,\u201d he said. \u201cWe encourage people to use a lot of caution on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_4797-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13521\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>An official from the Canadian Red Cross did a\ndemonstration where they checked the thickness of the ice for those in\nattendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being able to self extricate from a fall through the\nice makes a difference, however shock and fatigue, or a medical condition, can\npose a serious risk. Fast reactions by trained responders plays a vital role in\nfast rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ice\nthickness should be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>15 cm for walking or skating\n     alone<\/li><li>20 cm for skating parties or\n     games<\/li><li>25 cm for snowmobiles<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Many\nfactors affect ice thickness including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Water depth and size of body      of water<\/li><li>Currents, tides and other      moving water<\/li><li>Chemicals including salt<\/li><li>Fluctuations in water levels<\/li><li>Logs, rocks and docks      absorbing heat from the sun<\/li><li>Changing air temperature<\/li><li>Shock waves from vehicles      traveling on the ice<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_4677-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13518\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure\nyou know how to escape if you break through ice, and how to help someone escape\na similar situation. If you break though:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Do not panic. Your clothing      will trap air and keep you buoyant.<\/li><li>Turn towards the direction      you came from and place your hands and arms flat on the unbroken surface.<\/li><li>Kick your feet and try to      push yourself up on top of the unbroken ice on your stomach, like a seal.<\/li><li>Once you are lying on the      ice, don\u2019t stand up. Roll away from the break until you are on solid ice.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_4777-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13519\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nsomeone else breaks through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Stay calm and think out a      solution.<\/li><li>Don\u2019t run up to the hole.      You might break through and then you\u2019ll both need help.<\/li><li>Use an item to throw or      extend to your friend to pull them out of the water\u2014if you don\u2019t have a      rope, improvise with items such as jumper cables, skis, etc.<\/li><li>If you can\u2019t rescue the      person immediately, call 911 on a cell phone.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_4781-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13520\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p> [adrotate group=&#8221;6&#8243;] <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FALL RIVER: Firefighters from Station 45 in Fall River along with Halifax District RCMP and Canadian Red Cross officials showed the importance of a quick response in the event of a fall through many of the lakes and ponds in the surrounding areas. On Lake Thomas behind Inn on the Lake, RCMP Const. Michael Elms [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[2,156,969,14,112],"class_list":["post-13405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-fall-river","tag-hrm-fire","tag-ice-rescue","tag-rcmp","tag-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}