The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Firefighters take to the ice for rescue exercise
Milan firefighters braved frigid waters for special training
By Sue G. Collins, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 28, 2008
The ice is about ten inches thick near the middle of the south end of Mill Pond in Saline.
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Milan firefighter Mark Kimbrell knows this because he jumped into the icy waters there on Sunday, clutching the edge of a hole, waiting to be rescued.
Kimbrell and 20 other area firefighters spent all day in an ice-training exercise that included not only five hours of classroom work but also three hours of hands-on training in and around the frozen pond and treacherously cold water.
Firefighters from Milan, Ann Arbor Township, Saline and Pittsfield Township joined the training hosted by the Saline Area Fire Department and practiced each step of an emergency ice rescue, including tossing a line some 40 feet to hit the hole in the ice where a victim could be drowning.
They each donned a tethered cold water wetsuit to take a turn as a victim, then changed into an insulated, buoyant, all-in-one suit they would wear during a rescue procedure.
"These suits are designed to support the weight of me plus two victims," explained Kimbrell, a five-year veteran of the Milan fire department.
The rescue suits are all-in-one with a neoprene hood, boots and gloves.
"We call them our Gumby suits," said Saline Fire Chief Craig Hoeft, who early Sunday morning used a chain saw to create two holes for the practice runs.
Milan's Kim Carpus has been with the department for three years and was completing her first ice training.
"It's tough to toss this line all the way to the hole, but I'm really glad I'm getting this opportunity to try the equipment and face the icy conditions that we might come up against in an ice emergency," said Carpus.
"The ice will not be strong, especially this time of year, as temperatures vary, and with the springs and dams that feed into Mill Pond, Ford Lake and the other bodies of water around town. Stay off the ice," he urged.
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