by Mary Rupert
Kansas City, Kansas, firefighters trained for ice rescues today at Wyandotte County Lake.
Although the top of the ice on the lake has melted in the past few days, there was still an estimated five inches of ice under the slush on the lake, and the water temperature was estimated in the high 30s, according to firefighters. About 20 firefighters trained during the exercise today.
The last two or three winters have been so mild that there wasn’t a chance to train for ice rescues, according to Assistant Chief Scott Hawley, in charge of the rescue division.
“As cold as it’s been this winter, it got really good ice, so we’re trying to get everybody who is part of the rescue operations out on the ice to do it again,” Hawley said. “It’s a good refresher for everybody that’s been doing it for years, but we also have a lot of new people in our rescue crews.”
Chris Warner and other members of the Fire Department put on several layers of gear for the training exercise. The gear included dry suits and water suits, cold weather gloves and feet gear.
Firefighters cut a hole in the ice today and practiced rescuing one another during the training exercise near the boat ramp. They worked on going across the ice to do the rescue, extending a rope to the victim and pulling the victim to safety. They also practiced self-rescuing.
Hawley said he isn’t aware of any actual ice rescues that have happened here recently. Firefighters are hoping no one ventures out on the ice.
