Stay safe and stay off the ice
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service is warning people about the dangers of venturing on to frozen lakes.
If the ice breaks, you would become submerged very quickly due to the rapid onset of hypothermia. Often, this causes others to attempt a rescue, which can result in further loss of life.
Another problem is that dog owners allow their dogs to roam onto frozen lakes and then attempt to rescue the animal when it falls through the ice. In those circumstances, difficult as it may seem, the advice is to dial 999 and request the Fire & Rescue Service.
Earlier this month, firefighters from Cheltenham and Tewkesbury saved a three-year-old spaniel who had fallen into a small patch of water in an otherwise completely frozen lake at Coombe Hill Nature Reserve, near Tewkesbury.
When they arrived, the spaniel was in great distress but stayed afloat by gripping onto the ice with its front legs. The firefighters used specialist equipment to carry out the rescue, including an inflatable platform to allow officers to move safely across the ice.
Grup Manager at Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service, Tally Giampa, said: “We have a range of specialist equipment for unstable surface rescue such as ice, mud and swift water rescue. Firefighters trained as water rescue technicians have protective clothing and equipment to deal with water-related incidents in low temperatures.
“But in the temperatures we are experiencing, a person would not last long at all in a frozen lake. People need to recognise the potentially fatal consequences of venturing onto a frozen lake or canal and ensure that dogs are also kept well away.”
Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Youth, said: “It may look like a winter wonderland out there, and it’s tempting, particularly for children, to think that walking or skating on lakes would be fun, but frozen lakes are potentially a death trap.
“The lake may look frozen solid, but there’s always a big risk of patches of thin ice and in these extreme temperatures, people and animals could well lose their lives before the Fire Service can even reach them, so the best advice is to stay well away.”
