MINNESOTA DNR
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Rescue techniques are taught during a training session put on by the Cass County Sheriff’s office in Minnesota. A humorous ice-thickness reminder (bottom), based on the real Minnesota DNR guidelines, but adding a Star Wars All-Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) and Godzilla, has surfaced on social media.
It is a safety concern literally ripped from the headlines:
“4 snowmobilers go through Lake Superior ice near Pictured Rocks” – MLive, Feb. 3, 2018
“35 rescued from ice floe on Superior Bay” – Star Tribune, Dec. 1, 2018
“Body of second missing Minnesota snowmobiler found in lake” – Forum News Service, Dec. 27, 2018
When it comes to being safe on the ice, whether snowmobiling, ice fishing, fat tire biking or just taking a winter stroll, the experts all agree on one simple truth: There is no such thing as “safe” ice.
“This year we’ve lost five people,” says Lieutenant Adam Block, the conservation office at the Minnesota DNR who oversees the ice safety program. Adam is referring to deaths in Minnesota so far this winter relating to crashing through thin ice. In most recent years, the number of deaths in Minnesota relating to breaking through ice averages about five for the entire winter.
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People involved in outdoor recreation on frozen lakes or other waterways need to keep in mind that conditions fluctuate year to year (just because it’s January, doesn’t mean the ice is thick enough to drive on), hour by hour (wind shifts and warm sun can shift ice floes) and even yard by yard (an active current a few feet from thick ice can mean thin ice).
“Conditions can change within a matter of hours,” Adam says. “That’s what we saw happened on the bay in Lake Superior.”
Rescue boats and ladders were used to safely transport 35 ice fisherman from the bay off Park Point in Duluth in early December when a 50-foot crack in the ice separated them from shore.
“People were anticipating 4 to 5 inches of ice and that was true,” Rory Strange, a Park Point resident, told Fox9 after the incident. “What they didn’t factor in was the wind that was coming off the Lake.”
Adam also notes that the ice-thickness recommendations are based on “new, clear ice.” Those “safe” inches need to be doubled if the ice has formed, thawed and reformed, which is often the case.
Longtime residents and lifelong snowmobilers and ice fisherfolk can sometimes be fooled by the calendar.
“If you’re looking at trying to find the trends of when this is happening and where this is happening, often times it’s the shoulder season,” says Lisa Dugan, involved with the Minnesota DNR’s ice safety education program.
MINNESOTA DNR
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The Minnesota DNR recommends these safety tools (left) on ice – an auger and tape measure to check thickness and ice picks if you need to pull yourself free of the water should you fall in.
The DNR recommends packing safety tools like an auger and a tape measure to test ice depths at intervals as you proceed across the ice to a fishing site. The DNR also recommends carrying ice picks at all times on ice to pull yourself out of the water should you fall in.
“Your safety is your responsibility,” Lisa says.
When rescue from the water is necessary any time of year, a Duluth woman’s company has developed a life-saving device that has been purchased by fire, police and rescue squads around the country.
ARM-LOC
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The Arm-Loc device, developed by Connie Sylvester in Duluth, fits in the bag that Connie is holding, nicely portable.
Connie Sylvester fashioned the innovative Arm-Loc based on an idea from her brother after seeing a failed water rescue on television.
“That rescue endangered the lives of those who tried to help and lost the life they were trying to save,” the Arm-Loc website notes. “The victim was unable to hold on to the lifeline.”
The Arm-Loc device eliminates the need for the accident victim to have either the strength to hold a line to be dragged from the water or the dexterity in icy waters to tie a line around themselves.
During a rescue, an Arm-Loc can be tossed to the person in the water.
They simply slip it onto their forearm and tug a cord that triggers inflation of the device. Or a rescuer can reach the person and hand over the Arm-Loc or aid in putting it on.
“It’s like a blood-pressure cuff on steroids, but it doesn’t hurt you because it’s self-regulating,” Connie explains.
MINNESOTA DNR
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The Arm-Loc device uses an inflatable sleeve attached to a line with which rescuers can pull a victim safely to shore.
The Arm-Loc’s patented system applies a specific amount of pressure that locks it onto a person’s arm. It helps them keep afloat and also lets rescuers pull them to shore using the attached line.
Connie has spent several years traveling the county, listening to rescue crews and revising Arm-Loc.
When she first decided to launch Water Rescue Innovations and develop the life-saving device, she was operating a day care in Duluth. “I started the company during nap time at day care,” she says. “I worked with attorneys and raised more than $437,000.”
She has large and small investors in the project. The device, made in the United States, costs less than $400 per unit, which includes 75 feet of floatable line and a carrying bag.
Arm-Loc devices have been sold to more than 350 emergency departments around the country, as close to home as Two Harbors and as far as the Los Angeles Police Department.
Most recently, the St. Paul Fire Department purchase several units in December. Connie herself went to train the staff. .
Connie hopes the compact device, which is compact and reuseable with a new CO2 cartridge, will become standard equipment for rescue teams. She hopes it also will become recognized by those who might need it during a rescue.
“We’re going to educate people on what it is,” she says. “Everyone will know when an Arm-Loc comes your way, put it on your arm and pull the cord.”