First responders take an icy plunge

SARANAC | The Saranac Technical Rescue Team- a group part of the Rescue 3 International Ice Rescue Technician School- held a three-day class starting Friday, March 4. Firefighters from the City of Plattsburgh, Dannemora, Saranac, Morrisonville Technical Rescue Team, and even as far out as Conklin participated in the class to be better prepared for rescues out on the ice. "This isn't your 101 class where the ice is five feet thick," Instructor Don Uhler said at the beginning of Saturday's training. First responders practiced getting in and out of the water to get more comfortable with being on the ice before they started to practice rescues. All the training was conducted on open water and fragile ice shelves. Drills included rope rescue, use of ladders, use of skid boards, boat-based rescue, contact swim rescues, and self-rescue techniques. "There's many techniques to being [able to] rescue people out on ice. The first thing is getting people comfortable, and the second thing is really teaching them how to be rescuers," Uhler stated. A rescue out on the ice is a skill-based operation. Uhler works with T.J. Strack to teach these courses and together they have 22 years of experience under their belts. The Saranac Technical Rescue Team teaches courses all over New York and Vermont. They have even gone as far as New Hampshire to teach a course. "Members of our special operations team were able to train in ice rescue this weekend. The very intense three-day course goes over many basic and advanced aspects of rescuing someone that has either been stranded on or fallen through the ice. With our close proximity to Lake Champlain and many rivers, this is a very important training for our team," Plattsburgh Professional Firefighters Local 2421 wrote in a Facebook Post. Swiftwater Rescue Technician Classes are being planned for the spring.

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First responders take an icy plunge

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