VIDEO: Winter in Wisconsin can bring a mix of icy and wet conditions making it important for our fire department to know how to keep us safe in all conditions. I’m your Appleton neighborhood reporter Olivia Acree and I'm going to show you how the Appleton Fire Department practices ice water rescues.
When the Appleton Fire Department gets a call that someone needs help on the ice, it’s full speed ahead.
“Generally, we’re getting the victim out of the water inside of a minute,” said Battalion Chief Joe Kozikowski.
Kozikowski says they’re always prepared.
“Every district in the city of Appleton is going to have some sort of retention pond like this or the river as part of it so the exposure is citywide and an incident with the cold water like this is a time critical incident,” said Kozikowski.
It's an incident they get the call for a few times a year.