Visitors to Wascana Lake on Thursday might have caught a rare glimpse of firefighters taking to the water. It was all part of a training exercise put on twice a year by the Regina Fire & Protective Services for ice rescue.
“It’s this team that would be deployed in any emergency involving a potential drowning,” said Angela Prawzick from the Regina Fire & Protective Services.
It’s a situation made worse by the spring runoff. Every year, fire crews are called about four or five times when people or pets fall through thin ice. Usually it’s pets.
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“Although it looks stable to us when we’re out here on the ground, the ice is actually becoming weaker and weaker and weaker and that’s when it becomes very dangerous for people,” Prawzick said.
Rescue crews must also watch that they themselves don’t fall in.
“The last thing we want to see is anybody else get into any trouble; that’s why we train. That’s why they know what they’re doing; that’s why they can be deployed and be there within a matter of minutes,” Prawzick said.
When it comes to ice rescue, every minute, every second counts. For victims, hypothermia is the biggest challenge. Rescuers recommend hanging onto the surface of the ice in order to stay above the surface of the water, even when muscles give way.
“If you ever do freeze in time, which you will after hypothermia sets in and you go unconscious, you’re stuck to the ice so you don’t slide back into the water,” said Curtis Heinz, a member of the rescue crew.
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