Firefighters Train For Ice Rescue

The seemingly never-ending Arctic blast that has frozen the area since Christmas allowed the Bourbon Fire Protection District a chance to do ice rescue training.

On New Year’s Day, firefighters went to Bourbon Fire Chief Daniel Whatley’s property and trained on the ice, which Whatley said was around four inches thick.

The district just recently got the special cold water rescue suits, which Whatley said has a built-in floatation device.

During Bourbon’s training, one firefighter would float in the water and another would slide across the ice and hoist him out.

Whatley hopes firefighters won’t have to use them for anything but training and urged people to be cautious on ice.

“Stay off the ice,” Whatley said. “Even after we cut holes, it creates long fractures. It doesn’t make much to crack.”

Whatley said if someone falls through the ice, hypothermia will set in quickly and firefighters have limited time to make a rescue.