The death of a six-year-old Airdrie boy in a tragic drowning incident on Feb. 26 is a reminder to everyone of the importance of being safe around melting ice surfaces, says Cremona's fire chief Kevin Miller.
"One of the challenges around melting ice surfaces is that ice does not melt in the same way that it forms," Miller said.
"In spring conditions, thick ice is not necessarily safe ice. Ice degradation can take many forms apart from thinning. Thick ice can be soft and slushy and not able to support weight."
The boy fell through ice on a canal in Airdrie and died later the same day in hospital.
Chief Miller explained that many factors impact ice conditions, including the following:
ï Moving water can degrade ice from below and produce unexpected thin spots or open water,
ï The addition of salt (sometimes found in storm sewers) can impact the freezing temperature of water and cause ice to degrade at lower temperatures.
ï Overland runoff from spring melt can cause normally static bodies of water to degrade as a moving water body.
"When assessing the condition of ice; clear, blue ice is strongest. White opaque (or snow ice) is about half as strong as clear ice. Grey ice is unsafe and should not be trusted, the greyness indicates the presence of water," he said.
Rescuing others from ice is highly dangerous without the proper equipment and training, he said.
"The most important step is to activate 911 as soon as possible as your local fire service has access to resources for ice rescue scenarios," he said.
He explained that if you fall through ice there are a few self-rescue strategies you can employ:
ï Call for help. Bystanders can activate emergency services and get help on the way.
ï Resist the immediate urge to climb back out where you fell in. The ice is weak at that location.
ï Use the air trapped in your clothing to get into a floating position on your stomach.
ï Reach forward onto the broken ice without pushing down, kick your legs to push your torso onto the ice.
ï Once on the ice, crawl on your stomach or roll away from the open area.
Below are guidelines for ice thickness:
ï 15 centimetres (cm) for skating
ï 20 cm for skating parties
ï 25 cm for snowmobiles
For more information, visit the Red Cross website at redcross.ca.
"One of the challenges around melting ice surfaces is that ice does not melt in the same way that it forms."Kevin MillerCremona fire chief
