Brunswick and Brunswick Hills firefighters practice ice rescue

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick and Brunswick Hills firefighters simulated rescuing an individual who fell into the icy waters of Brunswick Lake as part of a training exercise on Wednesday. Brunswick Assistant Fire Chief Brian Cyphert said Wednesday's training was a surface water rescue. Firefighters started their training at Brunswick's new fire station to practice some skills before coming to the lake. "It's if a fisherman or an animal or a kid or somebody chasing a dog fell through the ice, and they were still on top of the ice shelf but in the water," he said. "Then, we can come out and safely remove them and get them to the ambulance to be treated." Ice rescues are "manpower intensive," Cyphert said. Firefighters put on buoyancy suits that keep them protected while they're in the icy water. A firefighter will go into the hole, calm the victim down, put a sling around them and then the firefighters on the shore will pull them out using rope. "This is actually good ice because it's solid to the hole," he said. "A lot of times, when people fall through, you might have to fight your way to the victim because you're going to have a little bit of ice that we fall through. We have a lot of tools, ropes, axes, and we have a boat that we can also use to get us from point A to point B if there's open water between us and the victim." There are a lot of ponds in the area along with Brunswick Lake, Cyphert said. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources does permit walking on ice that is at least four inches thick, but there may be sections of the water that are less thick and therefore pose a risk. "We always tell everybody that no ice is safe ice," he said. The ice rescue was a joint training between Brunswick and Brunswick Hills because the departments respond together and work together on any type of emergency that is manpower intensive, Cyphert said. "These types of training with our partners are really important to make sure that when we get on a scene like this that we can all operate with efficiency," he said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.