Waterbury firefighters had hands-on water and ice rescue training at Lakewood Park in the city on Thursday.
The crew from Rescue 9 practiced throwing ropes across ice, sliding across the ice, pulling victims out of the water and climbing out of the icy water themselves.
They wore special suits to help keep the cold water away from their body and provide buoyance so they can reach victims and rescue them. Without the suit, cold water can affect a body quickly.
“The body will go through a cold shock response in the first one to three minutes. There will be hyperventilation and then their effects will start to become more severe at around the 10-, 15-minute mark,” said Captain Lucien Lafreniere, with the Waterbury Fire Department's Bureau of Instruction and Training.
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When someone does fall through the ice, a person’s first inclination might be to go rescue them. But that can be dangerous.
“Unfortunately, the strength of the ice is very difficult to judge from place to place. It can be a few inches, able to support several people in one place, and extremely thin a few feet further from that area. So, without the proper training and equipment, a rescuer can quickly become a victim as well,” said Lafreniere.
Their biggest message to the public is, don’t trust ice and don’t let your children play on it.
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“The ice is very unpredictable. It can change at any time regardless of the temperature so the best way to avoid the situation is to stay off the ice,” Lafreniere said.
