The thin ice covering Newman Lake last week was weak, fragile and prone to collapsing under people’s feet – perfect for some ice rescue training for Spokane Valley Fire Department crews.
The idea was that each crew was to head out to a hole in the ice about 150 feet off shore, rescue a dummy under the ice, then move to another hole where they would take turns rescuing each other. But the reality was more difficult, as firefighters struggled to stay out of the water. Attempts at walking across the ice quickly turned to crawling on all fours or crawling on their stomachs in an attempt to distribute their weight across a larger area to avoid breaking through. It didn’t work well. Capt. Karl Cantrell, who was trying to make his way to the offshore hole in the ice, struggled to advance as the ice repeatedly collapsed beneath him. He hadn’t even made it halfway when he flipped over on his back to catch his breath. “I’m exhausted,” he said.
While the flimsy ice made training more difficult, it also made it more realistic, said department spokesman Craig Warzon.