Man rescued from thin ice
Rescue crews were called in Wednesday evening to help a man trapped out on very thin ice at Legion Beach in Osoyoos.
The man, who police said later was under the influence of drugs, had wandered out onto the ice sometime before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2.
Neighbours immediately called police. Ambulance and the Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department were also called to the scene.
However, thin ice wasn't the only aspect complicating this situation. According to Bill Roque, Assistant Fire Chief, the man wasn't cooperating with police.
If he could still struggle he would have made it a struggle. He would have put up a fight, said Roque.
That made rescue efforts much more difficult.
He was actually trying to break through the ice, said Staff Sgt. Walt Makepeace about the incident.
Roque said as soon as they arrived at the scene they began formulating a plan to get the man off the ice.
The first part of the plan included getting a power boat on the outside of the ice that could be brought in to break the ice immediately if the man fell through before rescue workers could get to him.
The second part of the plan was to get two aluminum boats on the scene. The first boat would be used to rescue the man, while the second was brought in for back up.
I had two guys ready to back up the first rescue team, said Roque.
Again the second boat became even more necessary because rescue officials didn't know if the man would be cooperative.
In fact, Roque said one RCMP officer was put on the rescue team just in case the man had to be subdued.
This was not a clear-cut rescue. It was a very delicate situation, he added.
Roque said he continued to monitor the man, who up until 15 minutes before the rescue was still walking around on the ice. Within eight minutes of rescue Roque said he could still see the victim's hands moving.
As it turned out the rescue came off without a hitch.
The man was brought in and transferred to the hospital in Oliver where he was treated for severe hypothermia. However, the man checked out of the hospital a couple of hours later and Makepeace said police talked to the man after he was released from hospital just to make sure he was okay.
Police have spoken to him, said Makepeace, who added no charges are pending. He was under the influence of drugs and that contributed to his mental state.rnHowever, one of the neighbours said she was concerned that it took an hour-and-a-half to rescue the man.
There must be some kind of equipment available for this type of rescue, said Barbara Lodge. It took too long. It could have been two little children.rnBoth Roque and Makepeace were quick to defend the rescue efforts.
If there were children it would be a totally different scenario, said Makepeace. We have to make sure we aren't going to loose anyone else.rnI can't risk my fire fighters' lives. We can't risk anymore lives, Roque said. This guy would have resisted and created a very dangerous situation. We have to keep our guys safe and still perform the rescue.
I know people may have concerns, but this rescue came off as planned and I'm very happy with the decisions that were made.
