Firefighters are seen undergoing advanced ice and river safety training with instructors from Dynamic Rescue Systems in the South Saskatchewan River in this News file photo from January.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com
With a warming period forecasted for Medicine Hat, local firefighters are encouraging residents to stay off any body of ice due to its unpredictable nature.
Environment Canada is expecting temperatures to rise into positive double-digit numbers by Wednesday, and firefighters say thawing conditions make the ice extremely dangerous.
“When you have that freezing, then thawing, and then refreezing on your ice, particularly in the bodies of water within the community, the ice becomes dangerously weak,” says Kelli Ireland, fire and life safety educator, in a recent YouTube video titled “Ice Safety” uploaded by the Medicine Hat Fire Emergency Services.
“Ice is so unpredictable, so we really encourage residents, particularly now as we are seeing higher temperatures, to stay off the ice.”
Firefighters say ice needs to be at least four inches thick to walk or skate on and suggest avoiding the ice if you’re alone.
“You should always be with a buddy,” adds Ireland, who says if someone’s pet happens to fall in the ice, do not chase after it, instead call 911 immediately.
“If you ever find yourself in a situation where your pet has run on a body of water and is sort of stuck out there or has fallen through, call us. We will come to rescue, our teams are trained on ice rescue.”
At the end of January over half the service’s members took part in a week-long advanced ice and river safety training program to ensure readiness for any cold water emergencies.
[…] Reference link […]