Members of the Mount Vernon and Lisbon Fire Department took part in ice rescue training Monday, Feb. 13.
The firefighters used the Nature Park Quarry to conduct the training, with ropes stretching from the boat launch and firefighters took part in rescues walking to a fellow member in the thin ice area. Numerous fire trucks and crews from both fire departments participated in the training.
Assistant Mount Vernon fire chief Derek Boren noted that the ice hole created at the start of the rescue exercise got much larger as the training progressed.
“It was already starting to get a little more precarious, with the warmer temperatures we’ve seen in the past week,” Boren said.
Which is why the training exercise was happening during Feb. 13, while the quarry still had ice to work with.
Both Lisbon and Mount Vernon have water rescue equipment and suits that allowed the departments to get training on ice rescues – once as a firefighter coming to rescue someone from the ice and once as the person needing to be rescued.
“It’s great to have an area to do this type of training,” said Mount Vernon fire chief Nathan Goodlove.
Crews from Mount Vernon and Lisbon on the shore pull on the rope to help rescue someone from the ice.