Members of the Cobourg Fire Department were practicing their annual ice water rescue training at Cobourg Harbour on March 23, 2019.
Captain Kevin Schroeder said it’s the first time some of the newer members of the fire department have been involved in the training.
In any type of training, the safety of the rescuers is paramount.
“That doesn’t always involve putting suits on and going in right away.”
Firefighters initially may try to use a “throw bag” for someone who is in distress in the water.
“Initially during a rescue it’s a scene size up and a lot of things depend on how long they’ve been in the water, their condition, whether they went into the water intentionally or not. All those things play into how we approach the scene and do what we have to do.”
The Cobourg Fire Department guidelines require minimum of eight hours training, but often the training exceeds the minimum amount says Schroeder.
Firefighters also have to familiarize themselves with the suits they wear in the water.
Just after entering the water they “burp” the suits which essentially is letting the air out of the suits to make them more manoeuvrable in the water.
In one scenario a firefighter was a ‘victim” who obviously didn’t want to be rescued which is all part of the training to try and prepare firefighters for any situation.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
