Winchester, Ky. (LEX 18) — First responders from multiple fire departments, including Winchester and Clark County, gathered on Thursday to practice ice rescues at a local pond.
Firefighters practiced multiple scenarios, according to Winchester Fire Department Battalion Chief Jason Keller.
“We try to do everything we can from the shore,” he said, “but a lot of times with being in subzero temperatures and ice, that doesn’t always work. So then we have to…send rescuers into the water.”
Despite below freezing temperatures lately, Keller said it is still unsafe for people to walk on ice.
“Just because it’s cold one day doesn’t mean the ice is froze,” he said. “It takes multiple days of cold weather to get ice to the point where you can get out on it.”
Even then, he said, it can be difficult to judge how thick ice is.
“You can walk around the shore but once you get out there in the deep water that’s when the ice gets a little thinner and you fall through.”
The Winchester Fire Department hasn’t yet been called to any ice rescues this year, Keller said.
