Firefighters warn of the dangers of frozen ice
Firefighters are asking residents to take extra care when walking their dogs near iced over water, after being called to rescue a dog from a frozen pond.
Crews from Leamington, Warwick and the boat from Rugby were called to rescue a trapped dog in a pond at around 4.30pm on Sunday 16 December on the Chase Meadows housing estate in Warwick. Fire crews had to wait for the arrival of the boat to retrieve the dog from the icy cold waters. The dog was fine and was checked over by the RSPCA.
Area Risk Manager, David Vazquez said:
“We don’t very often get calls to rescue animals from freezing waters, but with the weather being as cold as it is at the moment, I think that people need to be aware that although the ice looks solid enough to walk on, it isn’t!
“Before the crews arrived at Chase Meadows a local resident had tried to rescue the dog, but then got stuck himself in the freezing waters. This obviously is of great concern to us, which is why we are urging residents to call for assistance if animals do go into the water, rather than attempt to rescue the animals.
“If pets do go into the water, please do not go in after them. The water is very cold and your body will quickly go numb, which makes it very difficult for you to get out. The resident did attempt the rescue with the assistance of a buoyancy aid, a safety measure installed around the pond on the estate, but it is unusual for such safety measures to be in place near other waterways like canals, rivers and many ponds and without this buoyancy aid it may have been a very different story.”
“Please take care when walking or playing near what appears to be frozen water, we are all too aware of the dangers of getting into difficulty in waterways in the summer, but these areas of frozen water are as dangerous”
For further information on ice safety log onto http://www.rospa.com/waterandleisuresafety/factsheets/icesafety.htm