Fire, EMS Volunteers Brave Cold Waters for Ice Rescue Drill

About 50 volunteers with local fire departments and ambulance companies suited up for an ice rescue drill on Hook Pond in East Hampton on Sunday morning.

“That’s 50 more people who know about ice rescue,” said East Hampton Townwide Dive Team president John Healey. “With all the skating on ponds and hunting that goes on out here, that’s huge.”

Dive team members from the Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Springs, and Amagansett fire departments braved the cold waters and winter breeze for the second of a two-part class on how to safely rescue a person who has broken through the ice. Joined by emergency medical technicians, some who even suited up to learn the skill themselves, and a few members of fire departments in western Suffolk County like Commack and Huntington Manor, organizers thought the drill was hugely successful.

The East Hampton Fire Department played host, bringing its heavy rescue truck, and got out the saws to cut the holes in the pond. Some Suffolk County instructors, who taught the course, played the victims – splashing around in above freezing waters to give volunteers a realistic glimpse into what a rescue using a more modern technique would be like

Rescuers wore either older model red immersion suits, known as “gumbies,” or newer model yellow Ice Commander suits to insulate themselves from the elements. Carrying a lightweight rubber flotation device that was likened to a pool “noodle” that’s drawn together at its ends, one at a time they carefully walked or crawled out on the ice tethered to a rope held by others on shore.

When the rescuer reached the victim, he or she reached for a grip on their wrist, tried to calm the panic-stricken victim, and slip the tube over the person’s head and one arm, and then the other. A Velcro loop on the tube is then used to sinch the tube around the person’s upper body and keep them afloat.

Rescuers then got into the saltwater pond – which Healey said was about 34-degrees – and pushed the person up out of the hole onto the ice. With a command to helpers on shore, the two are pulled ashore.

“In the past, we used to take four guys and they’d push an aluminum boat to the hole,” Healey said. “All this weight and four more guys on the ice made for a tricky rescue.”

Drills were also demonstrated using a floating backboard and a newer item, called an ice sled. The sled is thick and hollow and can float through ice or slush, but also glide across the ice when needed.