submitted by the Stephentown Fire Dept.
Cold weather has been upon us in this New Year and now Spring is not that far away. The Stephentown Fire Department is warning people of the dangers of unstable ice and open water on streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. The heavy snow pack has insulated the ice and it may be more dangerous than you think.
In recent years, the Stephentown Fire Department has responded to incidents where family pets had gotten into difficulty on the unstable ice.
Fire Chief Joey Zwack said, “People often want to rescue pets believing the ice is thick enough to bear their weight. The weather conditions in the winter months pose a greater risk, so we therefore strongly urge members of the public to keep themselves, their children and their pets well away from potentially unstable ice.” Always dial 911 if this sort of emergency presents itself.
Stephentown Fire Department trains to deal with incidents of this nature, but we always prefer to prevent these situations from occurring. The frozen water might look appealing and fun, but the ice is likely to be very thin in spots, especially around natural springs hidden below the ice pack. It only takes a few minutes exposure to such cold water to cause death.