Foot tracks found on ice at lake. Lexington firefighters warn residents to stay away.
The Lexington Fire Department planned to take advantage of recent severe winter weather by doing ice rescue training on a pond Friday morning. When firefighters got to the lake at Jacobson Park, they discovered they could have found a victim.
“When we got here to check the thickness of the ice today, we actually had foot tracks through the snow out onto the ice,” said Capt. Chris Warren. “Somebody has already been out walking around on the ice. It’s just not safe. It’s not safe at all. They could have fallen through.”
Freezing rain from multiple winter storms and subsequent frigid temperatures left plenty of ice but not enough on ponds and lakes to make them safe.
The solid ice on top of the lake was about 2 to 3 inches, Warren said. Ice needs to be at least 4 inches thick to walk on, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. Ice needs to get to about 6 inches or more for people to get out on it and ice fish, Warren said.
“Nowhere in Kentucky are we going to have ice that thick,” he said. “It’s all going to be that 2 to 4 inches that’s in that danger zone. You think you can walk out on it, and then once you get out on it, you bust through.”
The fire department’s training was aimed to practice lifelike scenarios while the firefighters had the chance. It’s rare to get enough ice to practice, Warren said.
“Everybody wants to go out and play on it,” he said.
Dangers of icy ponds for firefighters and civilians alike
Being in the water and ice poses dangers to firefighters too, but their protective equipment helps to withstand the conditions. The same can’t be said for civilians who fall in.
“More than likely, they’re more or less going to be unconscious,” Warren said. “Even though they may be awake and may be able to follow commands, their muscles and their fine motor skills just aren’t going to work. It’s just too cold of water. If they’ve been in there any time at all, they’re not going to be able to help you at all.”
Warren said if people do get out on ice and it seems unsafe, they should lay down, distribute their weight evenly and try to roll back to shore.
“You may have walked out on ice and didn’t know you were on ice, and then it breaks out from under you,” he said. “If you can get on the ice and logroll your way away from it, and keep that weight distributed out on the ice as much as possible. If you’re standing up and put all your pressure on one spot, that’s the chance you’ll punch through the ice.”
People who fall through ice on a body of water have “maybe” 5 to 10 minutes to get out, Warren said.