Winter has closed in around the lakes dropping the water temperatures to freezing. For many, the frozen lakes are a giant winter wonderland full of endless play. For some, it will be the last place they play if they don't play safe. Every year lives are tragically lost to the chilling grasp of the winter water.

Ice is never safe.

Ice freezes and thaws differently throughout the lake. It can be a foot thick in one place and a few feet away it can be a few inches thick. Many factors cause this influx including: flocks of waterfowl, schools of fish, currents, and even blankets of snow. This winter take a minute to talk with your family about the dangers of ice. Develop a survival plan in case the worst happens. Tips to get you started follow:

GUIDELINES FOR SAFE ICE THICKNESS

(for new clear ice only, older ice is not as safe)

Outline Your Schedule  

Just like in warmer months, it essential to have a plan. Let people know where you are going and when you plan on returning. If something happens rescue crews will know where to begin their search.

Take a Friend

Friends always lend a helping hand. If a companion falls in the water, the other can assist getting the victim out or getting help. Remember to walk a good distance apart to avoid both people falling in the water. Do not run up to the hole in the event of breakthrough. Instead, find something to throw to the victim to help pull them out.

Be Equipped

Bring a rope, a flotation device and a pair of ice picks attached with a strong cord. The ice picks are essential tools for grasping the ice to crawl out. The flotation device will increase your chance of survival by conserving energy and heat. A rope can be used to pull people out of the water from a safe distance. Many snowmobile suits now are designed to float. Ice picks can be purchased at local sporting stores or made from screwdrivers with wooden handles (wooden handles will help them float). Caution: do not wear a flotation device while driving on the ice. It could limit your chance of exiting the vehicle.

Drive Safe

Drive with the windows open. Chance of escape is a lot greater if the windows are open and seatbelts unbuckled. Many cars will sink hood first if they go through the ice and land on the roof of the car. If the car does sink, wait until the cab is completely full of water before trying to get out. The pressure of the water will be too great before that. 


Don't "overdrive" your snowmobile's headlight.

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, at even 30 miles per hour, it can take a much longer distance to stop on ice than your headlight shines. Many fatal snowmobile through-the-ice accidents occur because the machine was travelling too fast for the operator to stop when the headlamp illuminated the hole in the ice.  Check at the access for signs that indicate an aeration system is in operation on the lake or ask at a local bait shop. Stay well outside fenced areas indicated by diamond shaped thin ice signs.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recommends the following tips if an accident does occur:

What if a companion falls through thin ice?

• Keep calm and think out a solution.
• Don't run up to the hole. You'll probably break through and then there will be two victims.
• Use some item on shore to throw, or extend, to the victim to pull them out of the water such as jumper cables or skis, or push a boat ahead of you. 
  
• If you can't rescue the victim immediately, call 911.
• Get medical assistance for the victim. People who are subjected to cold water immersion, but seem fine after being rescued, can suffer a potentially fatal condition called "after drop" that may occur when cold blood that is pooled in the body's extremities starts to circulate again as the victim starts to re-warm.

What if YOU fall in?

• Try not to panic. Instead, remain calm and turn toward the direction you came from.
• Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface of the ice.
• Work forward on the ice by kicking your feet. If the ice breaks, maintain your position and slide forward again.
• Once you are lying on the ice, don't stand. Instead, roll away from the hole. That spreads out your weight until you are on solid ice.

For more information on ice safety contact the MN DNR and ask for their free ice safety publications, which include the brochures, "Danger, Thin Ice" and "Hypothermia, The Cold Facts," and the wallet-sized reference card and 11x14 posters titled, "Minimum Recommended Ice Thicknesses."

Metro (651) 296-6157 or toll free outside the metro area 1-888-646-6367, or email the Information Center at info@dnr.state.mn.us.

Hypothermia is the number one killer of outdoor recreationists in the United States.

Most deaths that are attributed to drowning on frozen lakes and rivers are actually caused by hypothermia. Hypothermia can set in very fast making it difficult or impossible to tread water or get out of the water.


Victims of hypothermia need immediate professional attention. If immediate medical attention is not available, practice the following tips. It is crucial that re-warming is done properly to prevent a heart attack or death.

First Aid for Hypothermia Victims

Information provided by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Boating Programs 
www.boatwashington.com/hypothermia

1.  Make sure the victim has an open airway and is able to breathe. Then, check for respiration and pulse. Respiration may be slow and shallow and the pulse may be very weak, so check vital signs very carefully. If there is no pulse or respiration, CPR must be started immediately.
2.  Prevent further heat loss:

1. Gently move the victim to shelter and warmth as rapidly as possible.
2. Gently remove all wet clothing; cut it away if necessary. The small amount of heat energy the victim has left must not be expended on warming and drying wet clothing.
3. Wrap the victim in blankets or a sleeping bag. If available, place warm water bottles, or other gentle sources of heat, under the blanket on the victim's neck, groin, and on the sides of the chest.

3.  Transport the victim to a hospital as soon as possible. Only a physician should determine when the patient should be released. Incorrect treatment of hypothermia victims may induce a condition known as after-drop. After-drop is a continued fall in the victim's core temperature even after he has been rescued. This is caused by improper re-warming, allowing cold, stagnant blood from the extremities to return to the core of the body. When this cold blood returns to the core of the body it may drop the core temperature below a level that will sustain life. For the same reason, hypothermia victims must be handled gently and should not be allowed to walk.

Do not:

1. Place an unconscious victim in a bath tub.
2. Give a victim anything to drink, including hot liquids and especially alcohol.
3. Rub the victim's skin, especially do not rub it with snow.
   

By Megan Nelson