MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Emergency responders are urging caution when heading onto frozen bodies of water, following recent above-freezing temperatures.
When first responders get a report of someone going through the ice, they say it’s better to be safe, than sorry.
“That could be a long duration search where we find nothing, but we don’t wanna get back later to find out that somebody is actually missing,” explained Ryan Krings of Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue.
That was the case for Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue Tuesday night. A caller reported a snowmobiler going through the ice near Jefferson Park in Menasha. Rescuers got new reports saying he’d gotten himself out, but still responded with all the search equipment.
“The boat behind me, the squad that tows it. There’s gonna be a minimum of three personnel on that boat. There’s gonna be support units that respond, our command vehicle, probably at least two engines,” Krings told FOX 11 News, saying rescue workers did not find anyone in the water.
Firefighters told us this is a good opportunity to remind people ice safety is variable, especially with warm temperatures in the forecast.
“Conditions could change. We start getting a couple, three days of real warm weather, it’s gonna create some puddling and things like that,” explained Fond du Lac Fire Chief Peter O’Leary.
“The ice isn’t gonna be consistent throughout. So you may have 18 inches here and 100 feet away you might have two inches,” Krings added.
It’s especially dangerous near bodies of water with a current like rivers or streams.
“The ice is gonna take longer to form and the current is also gonna break away at the ice from underneath,” Krings told FOX 11.
So play it safe.
“Number one suggestion: always have someone with you. Always have a buddy,” O’Leary advised.
Check with the local fishing club before venturing out.
“You need to know where you’re going. There’s not a lot of snow out there, so there’s not gonna be plowed roads that you can follow. They do have tree lines. You still need to be aware of pressure cracks. Those could be two, three, four feet high,” said Krings.
“You really have to be familiar with a body of water and know, based upon what other people who are knowledgeable about that body of water say about whether it’s safe to be out there,” added O’Leary.
It’s all in an effort to try to prevent another search like Tuesday’s.
Firefighters told us these reminders are especially important as we get close to sturgeon spearing. They said more people, who are unfamiliar with the waterways, tend to be on the ice.
