ATHABASCA - Stay off the ice and stay away from the river, it can’t be put much more bluntly than that.
Not only are you putting your own life at peril, but the lives of the first responders who are going to risk everything to save you as well.
You can now see open water on the Athabasca River and after a couple more days of sunshine, it will be completely free of ice and flowing quickly as it accepts the spring runoff of its dozens of tributaries on its way to Lake Athabasca, to the northeast near Fort Chipewyan.
Athabasca County Emergency Services put out the thin ice warning to residents last week.
“Safety is the No.1 concern, stay off the ice. Keep your children and pets away, because it is becoming that time in the season where the warmer weather is affecting the river and it can be dangerous,” said Athabasca County regional fire chief Sheldon Schoepp.
“It’s always moving underneath. If someone sees an area where they think it’s safe to walk across or for their pets to go, it can still break away, or they can fall straight in, and then we have a bigger issue.”
At that point, it’s a matter of minutes before hypothermia sets in. If emergency services has been notified, they will get there as quickly as they can, but in an isolated, rural area, it can take more than a few minutes to find the location of the emergency.
As such, the best course of action is to stay away altogether, said Schoepp.
“If you do get caught in a situation of falling in, try to make yourself as big as possible,” he said, meaning to get yourself horizontal in the water and try to propel yourself onto the ice by kicking your feet.
If you are able to get yourself out of the water, it’s imperative that you get out of your wet clothes and find warmth as soon as possible.
“If you keep those wet clothes on you, that’s going to hinder your body from warming up.”
If a victim is located quickly, firefighters will undertake a complex operation involving teams on either side of the river and specially-trained members, in ice-rescue suits, who will go out onto the ice themselves to rescue someone who has fallen through.
The very first concern is establishing communication with the victim, said Schoepp. Next, first responders will try to get them a life jacket and a rope they can tie around themselves.
“They will slowly, slowly, make their way out onto the ice, and at about 10-15 feet, they will get down on their belly, and slowly creep towards the individual. We’ll get down in the water, with our feet first and get behind the patient,” said Schoepp, once again reiterating the importance of communication between the patient and the rescuer.
Once secured, the teams on land are signalled and both are slowly pulled to shore.
Plans, procedures and the proper training are all in place for area firefighters, but the amount of time between falling into the freezing river and when first responders arrive is critical, said Schoepp, so the best course of action is to stay away from the water and keep off the ice to make sure everyone stays safe.
