AURORA, Colo. — In an ice-rescue emergency, every second matters. To make sure no second goes to waste, Aurora Fire Rescue crews are starting new training that allows them to respond to emergencies quicker.
“In the past we used to have specific rigs that were ice rescue certified, which delayed our response to getting to people on the ice," said Paul Shoemaker, the ice-rescue trainer with Aurora Fire Rescue. “We don't have a lot of time in these types of temperatures to where people will freeze and go under the ice."
Now, the entire department is learning how to respond if someone falls through the ice.
“I think this is a huge step for the city of Aurora now that we are going to have every single apparatus have the equipment that you see me sitting in right now, and having our entire department be ice rescue technician certified,” Shoemaker said.
Each new suit is $800 plus maintenance, which keeps rescuers from freezing.
“The main process is we try to throw something to them first, then we try to reach, see if we can go out on the ice, and give them maybe a pipe pole or something like that,” Shoemaker said. “If we fall through the ice, this is how we get up.”
He said it's a massive investment – but you can't put a price tag on saving a life.
”It is an unbelievable feat that we can basically get it to the point to where we will have rescues performed in under seven minutes, now that every single apparatus can do that,” Shoemaker said.
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