Why firefighters want Calgarians to stay off the ice
Fire fighters were busy this week dealing with people walking on the Bow River's thin ice.
The Calgary Eyeopener's David Gray recently spoke with Calgary Fire Department spokesperson Carol Henke about the problem.
What follows is an edited transcript of the interview.
David Gray (DG): What do you think when you see people jumping on ice floes on the Bow River?
Carol Henke (CH): I'm just shocked that people aren't considering the real danger of what they're doing. It might look safe, but it's not in so many different ways. There is just no way to judge the thickness of the ice, whether that piece of ice is going to move, whether it's going tip when you step on it. If it tips, you slide into the water, it tips back and you are now underneath the ice and going along the river underneath the ice. It's incredibly dangerous.
DG: The fire department had another incident on Sunday (Jan. 25) to deal with. What was that all about?
CH: There were over a dozen people that were walking on the ice on the different pieces of ice, even posing for pictures. It was really shocking. Our battalion chief who was on duty at the time did speak with the media that day. He was shocked that people just didn't understand how dangerous the situation was that they were putting themselves in. Not only that, when we respond to those calls, we have a very well equipped and well trained aquatics rescue team. However retrieving people from under the ice is one of the most dangerous procedures that we can put our team into. It puts everyone at risk.
DG: To be clear, no one has died this year doing this, have they?
CH: Not that we're aware of, no. I'm sure there have been, but by the time we get there, which is several minutes, people have luckily gotten out of that situation. Or nothing happened and it's been our firefighters that have strongly encouraged that they come back to shore safely. And then they educate them on the risk that they've put themselves in.
DG: How do you send a diver under the ice looking for somebody?
CH: If someone winds up under the ice on the river, it's moving water. The body then moves along under the ice and you really can't see it until it comes up away from the ice. And where that's going to be, that's anyone's guess. Unfortunately, when people do go missing in the river sometimes we don't find them for months and that's a sad fact.
DG: Is it also an issue for dog owners?
CH: Oh, it is. Last March there was actually a situation in Elliston Park, where a woman's dog had gone out on the ice. She went out after him and broke through. And a passerby happened to see her struggling, pulled over, had a tow rope in his truck, and rescued her.
DG: What's your suggestion around ice floes in Calgary at this time of year?
CH: I don't want to yell on the radio, but if people could just stay off the ice, that would be so much safer. And adults especially need to set a good example and model good behaviour for children. Because if children see adults on the ice they assume it's okay to do.
