Smyrna times., 1935-02-14
STATE SAFETY
COUNCIL NEWS
Serious Ice Accidents In Win
ter Can Be Prevented
In Most Cases
PRECAUTION MEASURES

ACCORDING 10 une 1eIdWdr6 Sd1t-
ty Council there is no excuse for
serious ice accidents this winter
Extensive experiments in accident
prevention and rescue methods
have been conducted and the fol
lowing procedure for ice rescuers
are recommended The human
chain method of rescue is the rec
commended way for a group rescue
provided equipment is not avail
able. The rescue is cautiously ex-
ecuted with No. l sliding out on
stomach and grasping wrists of
victim who is pulled up ON the ice
on stomach No. 2 slides out in
the same manner and grasps the
skate of No. 1 with one hand, US
ing free hand to help progress. No.
3 skneels, grasping one skate of
No. 2. No. stands and acts as
an anchor, bracing skates and
working backward, taking up the
gain as the chain moves backward.
On command given by No. 1 the
pulls" are executed. 1t is neces-
sary for all in chain to keep their
weight spread out. They use hand
not holding partners ankle to as
sist in working their way back
ward Plank or ladder pushed
within reach of victim at edge of
hole will usually enable him to
climb out if he is not too numb or
weak through prolonged INNER
sion; it distributes his weight to
the thicker ice away from the hole
and the edge of the ice surrounding
the hole will not break so COM
pletely. If he cannot lift himself
out, but can hold on, it may be
used to pull him out provided the
rescuer has on skates or "creepers"
Gan appliance with spurs attached
to the shoes to prevent slipping),
or has some other means of brac-
ing his feet on the smooth surface
of the ice. AS a last resort, the
rescuer may approach the edge of
the hole on the plank or preferably
several planks laid out to distrib-
ute his weight while he drags the
victim out. Rescuer must be
equipped with skates, "creepers,
or must be supported in some
other way to enable him to pull out
the victim; otherwise he will only
pull himself towards the hole. If
end of rope is punched and knotted
to about the size of a persons fist,
it will carry better and further, es-
pecially in a wind, and in case the
victims grip is weak, it will not
completely slip through his hand.
A billet of wood or piece of short
stubby branch tied into end of line
will serve same purposes If vic
tim cannot grasp line at all, a
thirty inch diameter moose at the
end will enable him to slop his
head and one arm through. A
completely helpless victim can best
be secured by some one deliberate
ly going out for him with a rope
fastened under the rescuer's arm
pits, and held by assistants on
shore or on skates. The precaution
of fastening a rope around the res
cuer in this way should be taken
even when the rescuer attempts to
reach the edge of the hole by
means of planks or a ladder. Self
rescue is entirely possible in a ma
jority of cases, but is defeated by
unreasoning panic on the part of
the victim. When a person is
by the exercise incident
to normal skating, there is no
great shock caused by sudden sub
mersion in ice water. Quick, Wig
orous, but thoroughly thought-out
action will avoid needless exhaus-
tion and needless breaking of ice,
and result is prompt self-rescue.
The correct procedure upon INNER
sions is to extend both arms on sur
face of the ice to support the body
while calling for help. The vic
TINS legs naturally tend to come
up forward under ice. This should
be prevented by executing a crawl
kick, thus planning the body on the
surface of the water. The exercise
of this will tend to ward off the
chilling effect of the cold water.
The weight of the lower part of the
body will be supported by the wat
er, not the ice, and thus enable the
victim to get support from ice
otherwise too thin to hold him up.
If rescue comes, this planning posi-
tion will facilitate being pulled to
safety on the ice. For self-rescue,
the victim should assume planning
position and endeavor to crawl for
ward fat on belly until hips are at
edge of ice, then quickly swerve
sideways, and with arms extended
above head, roll quickly away from
possibly breaking edge OF hole.
Initial pull-out on belly can mater
tally be facilitated by use of some
object such as a large nail or spike
or sheath-knife. Scout knife. or the