The Prospect Heights Fire District recently conducted training with the Wheeling Fire Department to plan for just such an emergency. With Winter well underway, people are venturing more often outdoors. Some of those activities find people out on ice covered lakes and ponds. Members of both Fire Departments want to remind everyone that ice on area lakes and ponds is not always safe. Underwater springs, bottom composition of the lake, salt runoff from roads and the obvious temperature rises are several factors that can weaken ice. The fire department wants everyone to remember never venture out onto ice by themselves. Always have a partner nearby, but not too close. If someone falls through, remember to call 911 as quickly as possible. If unable to remove themselves from the hole, instruct victim to maintain arm contact with the top of the ice ledge. Keeping the victims’ head above water is critical to surviving. Most individuals will remain conscious for 10-20 minutes before hypothermia causes unconsciousness.
As seen in the pictures, Firefighters wear special exposure suits to stave off the cold and wet. These “Ice Commander” suits feature a outer nylon shell which keeps the firefighter dry, and has some insulation built in to it. Every frontline fire vehicle at Prospect Heights has one the Ice Commander suits, and all firefighters are trained to execute these Surface Ice Rescues. The members also trained on a newer piece of equipment called an R.D.C. (Rapid Deployment Craft). This pontoon style raft can be inflated in under one minute using a standard fire fighting air bottle carried on all fire apparatus. Several area departments have these RDC’s (or Banana boats as some of the firefighters call them). The one used by the Prospect Heights Fire Department was acquired through an asset sharing initiative within the MABAS Division we belong to. The craft is housed at Prospect Heights, but is deployable to any department requesting its use during an emergency within our Division.