Fishers firefighters train for ice rescues, warn of dangers

Fishers, Ind. (WISH) — The Fishers Fire Department trained to stop tragedy Wednesday with mock ice rescues.

The department’s training began with a firefighter plunging into the ice-cold water wearing a wet suit and yelling for help. Several crews arrived and began to pull him to safety.

Officials decided to continue training despite warmer temperatures melting away most of the ice.

The training comes after an ice rescue over the weekend in nearby Lawrence.

24-Hour News 8 was on scene shortly after a police officer saved a teenager from an icy pond.

“My own child obviously popped up in my head, so that was actually my child that I saw, that I was envisioning out there,” lawrence PD officer Dustin Van Treese explained of the rescue. “So as I was crossing out to take the shortest path to him, I was taking my belt keepers off to take my duty belt off.”

The teen survived and was treated for hypothermia. Not everyone rescued from the ice makes it out OK.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a Greenwood man died after trying save his dog from a frozen pond.

And in Delaware county, a 70-year-old man went under while ice fishing and died.

In both of those cases, the victims were alone.

“If you’re doing ice fishing, or ice skating or something like that on the ice, it’s very important to not be alone.” Fishers Fire Department Lt. Brandon Anderson said.

The hope is that a second person could help in case of emergencies.