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Home » How to lose weight quickly » THIN ICE: How To Survive Plunge Through Ice

Aaron Brilbeck Staff Writer

January 31, 2012

DES MOINES—

Monday night, two people were killed when they fell through thin ice in Madison County. Now, water rescue experts with the Des Moines fire department show us how to survive a fall through the ice.

It’s important to stress, with the temperatures we've seen lately, no ice is safe to go on right now.  But if you do fall through--you'll have to act quickly. "You're going to panic right at first," says firefighter Brad Peterson, "You're going to tense, just from that pure shock of the water. So your first thing is to be how to react to how to get out of here and you might not think clearly."

First, calm down...you don't have long to get yourself out of the icy water before your muscles start failing you. "Within minute," Peterson explains, "It's not going to take you long and with this temperature you're probably five minutes. Then the more you struggle it's just going to take away your body heat faster so your muscles will contract even more and you'll lose your strength."

Get yourself to the ice ledge, the edge of the hole where you fell through--take a deep breath and kick your feet while using your arms to try to get up on the ice. Aim for the area you just came from--if that ice held you once it will hold you again. "Get to the edge, try and expand your weight out a little over the hole where you're at and just kinda lift yourself up on it and roll," Peterson says, "And if you fall through just keep doing that, get yourself up and just roll across the ice till you where it's a little thicker and you might be able to walk along."

Firefighters also suggest bringing "Ice-alls" with you. They are chunks of wood with spikes in the ends that you can use to help pull yourself out of the water. "Wear them around your neck anytime you go out or while you're out fishing," Peterson suggests, "This way you can just take them apart, grab a hold of them when you fall through the ice, you just use these to pull yourself out."

When possible--shout for help. If you become exhausted and can't get out--try to keep your forearms on the ice so your clothes freeze to it. That, according to firefighter Brian O'Keefe, may be your last hope. "Get your arms up on the ice and basically you're going to have to hold them still long enough and hope that they will freeze to the ice because at some point you'll go unconscious and if you're not secured you're going to end up going under."

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THIN ICE: How To Survive Plunge Through Ice

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