Jay Vander Plaat, Chief of the Huletts Landing Volunteer Fire Department, was kind enough to provide an update about some winter training activities.
Wanted everyone to know that on the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend, Jim Leghorn brought up two donated ice rescue suits. We now have four and we can practice rescues. Now it’s not as hard to find someone to play the victim. It doesn’t take a lot to get it started and by 2:00 pm on Saturday there were ten of us on a dock in Indian Bay.
So, Terry Storms and his wife, Lee, Jim Leghorn and his wife, Cathy, John Delucca and his wife, Robin, Barb Semcken, our medical person, (just in case), Jay Vander Plaat, Luke Smith and Sandy Stragnell all made our way out onto a dock in Indian Bay. Some ice, some open water, perfect conditions to refine our skills. No one expected that the ice would be thick enough to support us. It takes two people about three minutes to get someone into a suit.
While that was going on, some practiced throwing our rescue bags and some practiced repacking them so they could be thrown again. Everyone in the water is tied off with a rescue line. People on shore have special life preservers on. Everyone needs to have an understanding of what’s happening and what happens next.
Our teamwork continues to improve. Every time we try this conditions are different; old ice 12 inches thick that you cannot walk on, new ice less than two inches thick that you can sit on the edge and dangle your feet in the water, or no ice where we just practice simple skills like what happens when you lose your balance and turn over on your back like a turtle. With practice you can defeat the instant panic on not being able to get your feet back underneath by rolling onto your stomach. It’s all good.
Everyone has a real commitment to community service and the fellowship is next to none. Looking forward to seeing everyone again in the summer.