No ice is safe ice

The ice at the Hamilton bayfront changes daily. Movement in the water and fluctuating temperatures can make it dangerously thin.

Hamilton Police demonstrated that this morning when they sent one of their officers out to the edge of the ice. Within seconds she had fallen through and was flailing to try and stay upright.

She was wearing a protective suit, but without that gear, the temperature of the water can suck the heat out of your body incredibly fast. They say once you fall into ice you have about seven minutes to try and crawl out before your muscles start to lose function.

If you do happen to fall in, they say to stay calm, pull your arms up on to the ice and try to bring yourself into a horizontal position; then kick your feet to propel yourself back onto the ice and roll in the direction you came from.

Hopefully the marine rescue crew doesn’t have to put their practice to work this spring, but the season is expected to be particularly dangerous because of the cold winter we’ve had. Cst Ben Rushton says people have gotten used to thick ice, and that can create a false sense of confidence.

“There’s some stuff that’s easily holding us but then there’s other spots where we’re going to fall through. And if we had a snowfall and someone’s on it they wouldn’t even see where the thin ice is.”

A good example of that transition from thin to thick is to check for the change of colour. And it’s obvious that the ice changes as you move away from the shore. But it’s not always that clear and police want you to keep that in mind – don’t take the risk.

Remember, no ice is safe ice – especially at this time of year.