Firefighters rescue dogs

By LAURA BEHENNA Bigfork Eagle

Every January, Bigfork Fire and Ambulance trains its volunteers in ice rescue skills. And within a few days afterward, they get an opportunity to practice those skills in a real-life rescue.

That’s how it seems to happen every year, rescue volunteer Ivan Barnes said. He and Wayne Loeffler were among eight responders who helped rescue two dogs who fell through thin ice while frolicking off-leash at Wayfarers State Park Saturday, Jan. 27. Loeffler had the pleasure of getting into the water - which fortunately was only waist-deep - and breaking a path toward thicker ice, where Mike Kelecy pulled the dogs out. Then they had to keep the high-spirited dogs from jumping right back in the water, Loeffler said.

“I’d just been through training the week before that, so it was pretty exciting,” Loeffler said of the rescue.

The dogs’ owners had the presence of mind to call 911 for help, but many people find themselves in need of rescue when they try to save animals without help from professionals.

“People get really frantic about their animals and try to go out there [on the ice] after them, and then they really get in trouble,” Barnes said.

“That’s a really bad deal” when people try to rescue animals, Bigfork rescue volunteer Chad Wermer said. “I can’t stress enough about that.” Wermer was the first volunteer responder to reach the scene.

Emergency responders rescue animals that have fallen through the ice not only to save them, but also to prevent well-meaning humans from falling in too, Jordan White, who commands the Flathead County Sheriff’s Dive Team, said. Bigfork, Somers, Creston and most other volunteer fire departments in the valley are trained and equipped to perform ice rescues, he said.

“The reason rescuers work as hard as they do to save animals is to prevent people from going through the ice, too,” White said. People naturally want to save their pets or try to pull deer out, but untrained persons frequently suffer hypothermia soon after falling into frigid water and may die if not pulled out quickly.

“If people just flail around, they eventually sink and drown,” White said. His dive team performs an average of three body recoveries a year.

Ice rescues are tricky because when a person or animal falls through, the ice obviously isn’t strong enough to support much weight, White said. Trained ice rescuers wear insulated, waterproof suits and are tethered to a stable object (such as a tree or car) and another person on shore. The rescuer spreads out his or her weight by lying on a lightweight “flotation board” or a pontoon rescue sled. If the ice breaks easily, rescuers may use canoes or other flat-bottom boats to reach the victim.

A rescuer approaches a victim from behind to elude the victim’s urge to grab and pull down the rescuer, Wermer said. The rescuer fastens a rope under the victim’s arms, holds onto the victim, and rescuers on shore pull them both in until they can be safely hauled out of the water. An animal may need a sling fastened around it before it can be pulled out, White said.

“Wild animals, if they’re rescued quickly enough, don’t require any treatment,” White said. They either run off or die from physical or emotional trauma, he said. A domestic animal may need veterinary care, but the dogs rescued Jan. 27 went home with their owners after volunteers dried them off and warmed them with blankets, Wermer said. The whole operation took less than 35 minutes.

“Dogs are way more adapted to that [surviving cold-water immersion] than we are,” Wermer noted.

Sometimes a person can survive more than an hour of cold-water immersion if “diver’s reflex” kicks in, White said. When this happens, breathing stops, body temperature drops and the body’s functions slow down sharply. The heart may beat only eight times a minute, just enough to keep oxygen flowing to the brain and other vital organs. People have survived as long as an hour and a half this way, White said, but they must be brought back carefully with CPR and slow warming at the hospital.

Usually the person survives with no brain damage or physical injury, he said.

The diver’s reflex isn’t guaranteed to happen, however, and it works most successfully with young children, White said. He asks people to avoid tragedy by being continually aware of ice conditions and testing the ice periodically.

“The easiest way to determine the strength of the ice is how hard it is to break it,” White said. “If it breaks easily, it’s obviously not strong enough.”

The best thing to do if you see someone go under water - through ice or in open water - is to “triangulate your position,” Barnes advised. That means noticing where you’re standing in relation to the victim and a third object, such as a tree or building. When emergency responders arrive, explain these three positions to them, which will help them locate the victim, Barnes said.

Rescuers also appreciate help from untrained people on shore, he said. For example, no special skills are needed to pull on a rope or tell your version of what you saw happen, since people’s stories may differ.

“You can always use as much help as you can get,” Barnes said.