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Date: 1/20/2017
EAST LONGMEADOW – The Fire Department wants residents to understand the importance of safety on the ice this winter season by following several safety tips.
Fire Lt. Chris Beecher, who also serves as public and life safety educator for the department, told Reminder Publications the main dangers with unsafe ice are presented when the temperatures rise and fall during the winter.
“You have two or three days of it being cold and below freezing and you have these days … where it’s been 50 degrees or better,” he explained. “People will see that we get those two or three days of freezing and they feel that the ice is safe, but in all actuality it takes probably a good four days consistently of below freezing temperatures before the ice can be considered safe to go on.”
A pickup truck sank into Heritage Pond on Jan. 7 after four men attempted to plow snow off the frozen pond.
Beecher said with that recent incident in mind, it doesn’t get cold enough in this area to drive a full sized vehicle onto ice.
“It would have to be extremely low temperatures for an extended amount of time for it to be considered safe,” he noted. “And we sure don’t recommend it at any point throughout the winter for anybody.”
When asked if there have been any accidents in which people fell through ice in town, Beecher replied, “We haven’t had that issue with people falling through the ice. The main area where people do go skating is Heritage Park. We haven’t had any issues there. If it has happened it’s not something that we’ve been aware of or that we’ve had to respond to.”
General safety tips for going on the ice include following warning signs for unsafe ice, Beecher said.
“If it’s not a town or municipal sanctioned area to skate on; just some things to look for – ice that’s covered in snow is generally considered unsafe,” he added. “Snow hides a lot of soft spots in the ice plus it acts as an insulator so it can actually warm up the ice underneath the snow. Slushy sides at the edges; if it’s slushy or not frozen all the way to the edges that’s a good sign that its not safe for walking or skating,” he added.
Puddling in the body of water is also a good indicator that the ice is unsafe, he noted. Water that’s considered a flowing body of water will also never freeze solid enough for use.
“Typically what you’re looking for is a clear or a blue ice,” Beecher said. “That’s generally considered the safest. A muddy or a gray type of ice is usually not safe enough to go on.”
Ice should be a minimum of four inches deep to be considered safe as well, he stated.
Beecher said if anyone is going onto the ice he advises that they don’t go alone.
“Always have somebody with you that way if you do fall through the ice somebody can try to assist you,” he explained. “If someone does fall through the ice you want to get out of the water the same way that you came in. You want to go in that same direction because obviously the ice was safe enough for you to get to that point so it’s probably safe enough for you to get back.”
He continued, “If you’re with someone that falls through the ice we practice reach, throw, go – trying to reach something to get that person out whether it’s a tree branch, maybe a hockey stick. If you can’t reach them with that throw something that they can hold onto. If you have rope, throw them rope. If you have a floatation device, throw them that. If you can’t do any of those two things go get help.” He added he never advises jumping in the water to rescue a person. “Usually what that’s going to create is two people trapped in the ice and if that’s your only rescuer that person’s not going to be able to help you,” he noted.
If skating at Heritage Park is observed and reported when the ice is considered unsafe, the Police Department will go down to the park and usher groups of kids off the ice, Beecher said.
“Typically we get phone calls from people asking if the ice is safe to go on,” he added. “We usually refer them to the Department of Public Works. We, as a department, don’t go out and check the ice. The Public Works Department, I believe, is responsible for doing that.”