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Monday, January 29, 2007
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Cass stages winter ice rescue training
Senior Reporter CASS LAKE - Surviving a plunge through the ice into dark, cold open water is likely to depend on an ability to think clearly - for both rescuer and victim.
Saturday, the rescuers got a chance to play both parts.
Sgt. Tim Berglund, Cass County Sheriff's office, hopes the hands-on lessons learned in the open water on Cass Lake will save lives when rescuers are faced with the real thing.
"If you can't get there safely you are not going to help the person in trouble," Berglund said. "The whole key is to help everybody succeed in saving a life."
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Crews worked from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to pull giant ice blocks - about 24 inches thick in 30 feet of water - from a hole in Cass Lake to create a small pool. Participants in Saturday's winter ice rescue training practiced rescues and were able to try out new equipment, including cold water rescue suits. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
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An arctic wind blasted across Cass Lake where the air temperatures were 5 below, making it painful to expose skin to the elements. Participants in the event were undaunted as they willingly dropped into the open water.
Berglund pointed out the water, at 32.5 degrees, was warmer than the surface where wind chills exceeded 20 below and felt colder.
Life-saving tips
If you've broken through the ice, it's not surprising the advice is to try to get out of the water as quickly as possible.
Go back the way you came in since you know that ice was safe until the point where you went in.
Don't take off your clothes in an attempt to lighten yourself in the water. The clothes are helping you retain heat.
Carry a pair of ice picks all the time so you can climb out.
Always tell someone where you are going and what route you are taking.
Try to stay off the lakes at night, especially in unfamiliar territory. An added danger this year comes in ice heaves.
Source: Cass County Sheriff's Office, boat and water safety.
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Eric Reed, Cass Lake Fire Department, was trying out one of the new cold water rescue suits that provide greater mobility than the older, bulkier Gumby suits. The new suits, which do not cling to the body, have other benefits.
"Most of the guys you don't want to see in anything formfitting," Reed said and laughed.
Reed said it was good training to get in the water and remember how awkward the movement can be while floating in the suit. Participants were especially interested to try the inflatable boat, which is designed with a forward opening so someone in the water can readily be pulled to safety.
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Winter ice rescue training in Cass Lake Saturday included using a rapidly deployable inflatable boat to reach someone stranded in open water. The rescuer can paddle close to the victim and pull them to safety through the opening in the front of the boat. Other rescuers hauled on a rope attached to the boat and quickly pulled it back to solid ice. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
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Don Basista, Itasca County Sheriff's deputy, said the training event, which has grown during the past six years, was Berglund's brain child. It began as a way to share knowledge between local departments. Now units from across the state, Wisconsin, North Dakota and the Coast Guard based in Duluth attend.
Crews worked from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to pull giant ice blocks - about 24 inches thick in 30 feet of water - from a hole in Cass Lake to create a small pool.
Participants practiced rescuing each other in different scenarios.
Berglund said practicing what they could face in water lets rescuers know if they keep their heads things will work out.
"You want to be proficient and you want to be able to go out there and save the life and not endanger your life when you are doing it," Berglund said. "Ice is never safe and that is certainly one thing we tell the guys and the gals participating in this.
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Sgt. Tim Berglund, Cass County Sheriff's Office Boat and Water Safety coordinator, started the annual winter ice rescue training exercise six years ago. It has grown from a local networking event to a large training exercise that draws 130 participants from three states. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
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"Once you are under the ice and not tied off in a lifeline, it's pretty difficult coming out through that ice."
Berglund's own recent experience with an ice rescue came as two elderly fishermen nearly lost their lives on Lake Winnibigoshish where the Mississippi River flows in. The men, brothers, went through the ice on their snowmobile. They were able to climb out of the water. One was flown to Duluth with severe hypothermia.
"They were very lucky in that instance that they were rescued," Berglund said. "They fought to keep themselves from going under the ice."
Last weekend, Berglund said a vehicle went through the ice on Walker bay in 90 feet of water. No lives were lost, but it points to the unpredictable nature of ice strength.
The departments trained with Hovercraft, sleds, an Ice Angel airboat, underwater cameras and other tools. Berglund said using the equipment lets departments see what is available to them.
Berglund, Cass County Sheriff's Office Boat and Water Safety coordinator, has organized the annual winter ice rescue training exercise for six years. About 130 participants from more than 25 departments took part in the training
The event was sponsored by the Cass County Sheriff's office and the Cass Lake Fire Department. Equipment came from the Bemidji, Cohasset and Akeley fire departments.
RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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