By Melanie Plenda
The Union Leader Correspondent
HARRISVILLE, N.H. — The first shock of cold water knocks the wind out of you. Clothes that were once warm and comforting become a suit of icy pins and needles. And the clock is ticking.
“A person under the water only has about six to 10 minutes to be rescued before you have a neurologically impaired victim,” said Gerald Dworkin, lead consultant at Lifesaving Resources Inc., a water rescue training center in Harrisville. “That sometimes is extended in cold water — sometimes ... but every second is absolutely critical.”
The private company provides training water safety training for public safety and recreation workers.
“No ice is safe ice,” Dworkin said. “As people have more free time, more are going out on the ice for recreational activities.”
The next ice-rescue session is set for Feb. 18-21 at the Sargent Center for Outdoor Education in Hancock.
Three instances of ice fishermen’s vehicles going into the water in the last five years have prompted the town of Hancock to institute a new ordinance in December charging people rescued from Lake Nubanusit.
“We’ve been looking at a way to keep people from driving out onto the ice for years,” Hancock Selectman Carolyn Boland said. “The ice is a foot thick in some places and only a few inches thick in others. ... It’s dangerous for people who go out there and for the first responders who have to rescue them.”
On Feb. 5 2005, two pickups went through the ice on Lake Nubanusit. Authorities said the front wheels of a Sullivan ice fisherman’s Ford pickup went through the ice first; his rear wheels hung on, giving him enough time to get out of the truck. A Swanzey man wasn’t so lucky. His Chevrolet pickup was immediately submerged. He was able to escape, but his dog was trapped in the truck and died.
Dworkin offered advice for those who break through the ice. First, stay as calm as possible, he said.
Next, swim to the spot where the ice broke and grab onto the ice shelf. Once there, kick hard; this will keep you horizontal and may allow you to climb onto the ice shelf.
Dworkin also recommends carrying a whistle — it makes a sound more piercing than the human voice.
Once out of the water, Dworkin said the strategy is to stay flat and roll toward thicker, more stable ice. During rolling, body weight is more evenly distributed.
Dworkin recommends removing gloves and putting bare hands on the ice. Bare hands are more likely to stick to the ice, which will help keep the person from going under water should he or she lose consciousness.
As for being in a vehicle in the water, Dworkin said people need to plan and rehearse their escape routes.
“There is no doubt that when a vehicle ... plunges into the water, this would be an extremely frightening experience, especially during the winter months with cold water posing additional risks and hazards to the occupants,” he said.
A vehicle’s float time may be as little as 30 seconds, or as much as four minutes, Dworkin said.
“Because of the location of the motor in the front of the vehicle, the vehicle will immediately assume an angled, nose-down position in the water,” he said. “And it will start going down very quickly.”
Since the water pressure can make it impossible to open the vehicle’s door, Dworkin said, the only escape route is generally through the window. Some electric car windows will keep working for up to 10 minutes in the water, Dworkin said. But if the windows won’t go down, he recommends keeping an emergency hammer mounted in the vehicle.
Use the hammer, a spring-loaded emergency device or anything hard to break the window, he said. Then get out of the seatbelt -- the best way may be to cut it off.
Once free, swim out the window and into the open water. If there are passengers, each person should hold hands, forming a human chain to escape through the same window.
He also said the best way for a person on shore to help a friend or animal who’s fallen in the lake is to stay on shore. The person on shore can try to extend a tree branch, ladder or other long object to pull the person out of the water. Do not go out onto the ice, Dworkin said, since it is likely you, too, will become a victim.
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