Slide show & story: Time is critical when victims fall through ice

A loud creak is the last thing you hear before the ice cracks and you’re plunged into the bone-chilling bay. You struggle to climb back out but the slippery frozen sheet snaps off in your hands. The frigid water shocks you to your core, and you don’t have long until your body shuts down and you sink below the surface. The clock is ticking …

This situation can easily become a reality when Islanders start venturing onto frozen bodies of water during the winter. If it happens to you, you’ll be comforted to know that the Island’s emergency responders are well-versed in what to do.

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Members of the Shelter Island Red Cross Ambulance Corps and the fire and police departments, about 30 in all, gathered near Terry Drive on the icy western shore of West Neck Bay to practice ice rescues. The frigid bay looked far from inviting, and it didn’t help that the air temperature was hovering in the low teens. But the assembled crowd looked ready for action, with ambulances, a Fire Department utility truck and a police boat on the scene. The drills were led by Phil Power, who is the chief diver for the fire department, a member of the Police Department dive team and a critical-care EMT, and Detective Jack Thilberg, the commanding officer of the police dive team.

The emergency responders took turns donning bulky orange survival outfits, or “Gumby suits,” as they’re called, and crawling out to holes in the ice to pretend to be a victim who’d crashed through the frozen sheet and couldn’t get out.

There are many tools available to the departments for a rescue. One is a simple life-ring or throw bag, a floating weighted bag with rope in it. The volunteers practiced tossing the devices to a victim and then pulling them in. “It’s a lot harder than it looks,” commented one volunteer after trying to send the ring flying to his simulated victim but missing his mark.

Police officers carry telescoping ladders in their cars, which can extend to approximately 12 feet. If the victim is within reach, he or she can try to grab the end of the ladder so the officer can pull the person to safety. An officer might use it to slide out onto the ice to reach a victim. Firefighters can try this, too, once their utility truck shows up on the scene with ladders and other safety equipment.

Assistant Fire Chief John D’Amato said that the most important thing to remember in an ice rescue — aside from rule number one: never letting the responders become victims themselves — is that the person in the water is going to rapidly lose consciousness. “You’ve got to get something on that person right away, whether it be a life-ring or an over-the-shoulder flotation device, so if they can no longer move their feet or arms, they’ll stay above water.”

Time is a critical factor. Mr. Power explained that it depends on the individual, but “usually within 5 to 10 minutes they start to lose their motor functions like grip and hanging on to things” and might drown.

If a victim has reached that point, his  or her life is in serious danger. A responder might have to put on one of the survival suits and head in after the victim.

A responder shouldn’t attempt that without a survival suit, Mr. Power said. “The biggest problem is, you go out there [without a suit] and now we have two victims instead of one. You want to wait for someone to show up with some kind of thermal protection for the water and then have a tether between that person and somebody on the shore.” Island police carry survival suits in their patrol cars.

The group practiced sending a responder out to the victim on a sled with a flotation device. Once they got to the victim, they put the flotation device around him and put him on the sled, which was then pulled back to shore by those on land.

Police officers are typically first on the scene and have to make split-second decisions about how best to approach a rescue. On Sunday, the police department performed an emergency call out drill for every member of the department to test response times — they didn’t know they would be called beforehand.

Except for three who were off-Island at the time all the members of the police department were on the scene. That includes the two bay constables, who practiced launching the department’s 24-foot Privateer in snow and ice conditions and getting to the scene. Once they were there, they honed their skills tossing life rings and hauling a victim aboard the boat.

Once a victim gets to shore, the Shelter Island Red Cross takes over. The first priority for the ambulance team is to evaluate the victim for any life-threatening injuries, then take the vital signs and follow a hypothermia protocol, which includes slowly warming the body — a rapid warming can be a shock to the internal organs. The Shelter Island ambulances come equipped with intravenous fluid warmers so warm fluids can be dripped directly into a victim on the way to the hospital.

The volunteers at Sunday’s drill stayed warm with hot chocolate. After the drills, the participants headed back to the Heights firehouse for a debriefing.

The drills are usually held once a year, Fire Chief William Rowland said. “Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance last year to practice, so I thought we were going to be a little bit rusty, but it went very well.”

The departments get especially concerned this time of year, when people start heading out onto frozen waters in ice boats, Chief Rowland said. Aside from deer and dogs saves, a rescue hasn’t been necessary in recent memory, according to Police Chief James Read, Chief Rowland and Mr. Power. But it goes without saying that staying sharp is a vital part of keeping the Island safe during the most frigid days of winter.