Barrie residents and local visitors are being warned to be careful of thin ice on Kempenfelt Bay, because “no ice is safe ice.”
With current temperatures well below the freezing mark, emergency officials say there may be a false sense of security when venturing out onto Lake Simcoe.
“There are methods for understanding ice that people who typically frequent the ice would have knowledge of,” Deputy Fire Chief Eric MacFadden told BarrieToday.
“However, ice can form in many ways and be affected by several variables, hence why the general message is ‘no ice is safe ice,'” he added.
The physics of water ice is unique and not easy to predict when it comes to freezing, melting and its ability to hold weight in poor conditions.
MacFadden said if someone finds themselves having fallen through the ice and into the water, they need to stay calm, maintain a low centre of gravity and try to pull themselves back up onto the ice.
“This, however, only works if there is stable enough ice to support a person getting out of the water," he said. "Should the ice conditions be deteriorated significantly, then one can attempt to continue to break through until able to get to safety."
Barrie firefighters have the training and equipment to carry out ice rescues when called upon.
"Our crews do not go onto the ice without an approved immersion suit and PFD (personal flotation device),” MacFadden said. “This provides us the thermal protection and flotation ability should we end up in the water.
"Our crews are trained in techniques to self-rescue and or rescue others from various ice-water circumstances,” he added.
Those techniques and gear were put into play just last week by emergency crews when they responded to a wayward angler who found himself in a precarious situation.
On Jan. 10 at about 12:30 p.m., Innisfil Fire and Rescue Services crews were called to an area of Lake Simcoe near the 30th Sideroad, just off Big Bay Point, after a lone fisherman became trapped on an ice floe roughly 450 metres from shore.
While out fishing, the wind picked up and broke the ice up, officials say, resulting in the man being on an ice floe separated from shore by open water.
As Innisfil firefighters strapped on their gear and prepared to go out onto the water with their Fortuna boat, they requested assistance from Barrie Fire and Emergency Service, which has a hovercraft, due to the large amount of open water still on the lake.
The man was rescued unharmed and at no point entered the frigid waters.
