Pocono News Section

Ice Safety Tips Explained In Light of Rescue

Ice Safety Tips Explained In Light of Rescue - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 5:40PM EST

Reported by: Eva Mastromatteo
Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010 @ 05:40pm EST
Two Luzerne County teens are lucky after getting stuck on ice Monday night in Butler Township.
First responders from a number of different departments saved them. They came to the lake at the Beech Mountain Housing Development about 10 minutes after getting a call about the two 14 year olds were stranded.
T. R. Laputka is a firefighter with Valley Regional Fire Department and a rescue diver with the Luzerne County Sheriff's Department. He was on the scene pushing the rescue boat onto the ice.
He urges people to not go out on the ice at all, unless having taken a specialty course on what to do. He says there's no easy way to tell just how thick the ice is.
"There has to be a minimum of four inches just to support a persons weight. There's ice that could be thick, but yet still brittle."
He also adds that "Once you've fallen in, you're in water that's 32 degrees and you freeze quickly and lose the ability to move your muscles in your legs and kick. Evenyually you go under."
The boys in Butler Township refused treatment, saying they were fine. First responders hope it's a lesson learned.