MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon and College-Monroe fire departments took a dip in freezing waters Friday as part of their ice rescue training.
“The ice rescue, it is something that is weather-depending,” explained Mount Vernon Fire Chief Chad Christopher. “Last year it was a little bit tough, we didn’t have quite the freeze. This year we took advantage of it. It’s great to get the guys all together.”
The day began with some textbook learning before the firefighters headed out to The Lakes at Ariel Foundation Park to apply that knowledge in three different ice rescue simulations. The firefighters would take turns acting out the part of the victim while others would play their intended roles of emergency responders.
“As we start to train, you get comfortable with the knots, the ropes, the equipment, getting tossed down into the cold water. You’re gaining that knowledge, what it’s going to feel like,” said Mount Vernon Fire Lt. Trevor Williams said. “We can watch YouTube videos about it, but once it becomes a scenario, things are being handled like we would try to handle in real life.”
The two fire departments worked together during the training exercise not only to hone their skills, but also to learn how to work together in such a situation.
“Just getting all the guys together, it’s a plus to do these bigger training like this. As we move forward we want to try to reach out to the other departments and get them involved with us also,” Christopher said.
“It’s good to work together with them, see faces, exchange phone numbers, talk about stuff,” added Williams.
At the short rescue station, Williams explained, firefighters would throw ropes from the bank to the nearby victim or push a ladder onto the ice. Two firefighters will go out on the ice to help pull the victim onto the ladder while another duo would haul the ladder and victim to safety with ropes.
Another scenario allowed the fire departments to use Mount Vernon’s new boat. “It’s kind of a platform,” Williams said of the inflatable boat that is usually the size of a small cube when not in use. “You take it out on the ice, get the person on the boat, [then] people on the shore take a rope and pull the boat.”
The third station featured a scenario where it may have been too far for emergency responders to reach and too far to throw a rope. In that case, the firefighters would drag a surfboard-like device onto the ice and pull the person onto the board before using ropes to pull them to shore.
As Williams stood on the bank of one of the ponds, his fellow firefighters could be seen standing around a hole in the ice, treading water, or laying on the boat. He noted that they were all talking to one another about the process. “They’re going to be doing what I would be doing: ask the questions. What do you think about this? Should we try this? That’s where we’re really gaining the outside-of-the-textbook stuff the academy never taught us. That’s why we continually do this all the time.”
Though they train a lot in rivers and ponds during the warmer months, the fire departments can’t forget the dangers that lurk during the winter season. Both Williams and Christopher pointed out the footprints that tracked through the snow on the pond — tracks, they both said, that weren’t made by the firefighters.
“Are people coming out here and ice fishing? Is it people playing? I don’t know, but there are concerns. We already know people are going out on ice,” Williams said.
Fortunately, the Mount Vernon Fire Department has not yet had to put its ice rescue training skills to work in a real life situation. “We just want to make sure we’re prepared for that type of emergency when it comes in,” Christopher said.
Christopher asked that residents stay away from the open sections on the ponds where the training took place. Those have been marked with caution tape.
