Thin ice causes various accidents every year. Most often, the participants are children who walk near frozen bodies of water without parental supervision, and fishermen who go out at their own risk onto fragile and treacherous ice
It is important to follow the rules of safe behavior on winter reservoirs. In winter, most water bodies are covered with ice, which is a source of serious danger, especially after the first frost and during the thaw period. The main condition for a person’s safe stay on ice is that the thickness of the ice matches the applied load. The safe ice thickness for one person is at least 7 cm, and for crossing on foot – at least 15 cm.
You can cross the pond only with good visibility and wearing a life jacket. It is better to go down to the reservoir in places where there are no frozen sedge bushes and grass. You need to walk carefully, without lifting your soles. It is better to check the ice not by kicking, but by using a log or a ski pole, if after the impact even a little water appears, this means that the ice is thin and cannot be walked on. It is better to cross a frozen river (lake) on skis, and unfasten the ski fastenings so that if necessary, you can quickly remove them. Hold ski poles in your hands without looping them around your hands, so that in case of danger you can immediately throw them away. If you have a backpack, hang it on one shoulder, this will make it easy to free yourself from the load in case the ice falls under you. If you do fall through the ice in the first place, don’t panic. Call for help and try to stay afloat. Don’t try to frantically get out: since the ice is fragile, you will only break it off. Move to the edge of the ice hole where the current comes from. When you reach the edge, try to put your chest on the edge of the ice and, throwing your leg, get out onto the ice. Don’t give up trying to get out, even if the ice breaks. After the main part of your body is on the ice, roll away from the ice hole. Slowly and carefully crawl to a safe place, pushing off with your arms and legs. Once on land, take off and wring out your wet clothes, and ask others for help.
Particular attention should be paid to teaching the rules of safe behavior for children. Adults are required to talk about ice safety in winter. You can’t let kids go alone to frozen bodies of water. It must be explained that when moving on ice of questionable thickness, it is necessary to walk in single file. You should not step on the ice if it is covered with snow, as you may stumble upon ice holes. Prohibit going to bodies of water when the temperature changes and jumping on a separated ice floe.
If, nevertheless, the ice did not hold and cracked, and the child ended up in the water, then he should know how to act in such a situation. If he was not alone, but with a group of friends, then one of them should quickly go for help.
Only by following these simple rules can you be sure that your winter holiday will go well:
- going out on the ice is prohibited during freeze-up, until the ice thickness reaches 7 centimeters, as well as during the period of melting and destruction of ice;
- You should cross bodies of water on ice at designated crossing points. If they are absent, before moving on the ice, you need to make sure of its strength. If, after the first blow, the ice breaks through and water appears on it, you should immediately stop and move back in your tracks, while the first steps must be taken without lifting your soles from the ice. It is prohibited to test the strength of ice by kicking;
- When moving on ice, you should be careful, carefully monitor its surface, avoid dangerous and suspicious places: inflows of streams, outlets of groundwater and springs, discharges of industrial and waste water, frozen sedge bushes, grass, ice picks. It is not recommended to go out on the ice in a snowstorm or at night;
- when crossing on ice in a group, you should move at a distance of 5-6 meters from each other, carefully moving behind the person walking in front;
- Skating is permitted only on specially equipped skating rinks. The construction of skating rinks on bodies of water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds) is permitted in shallow water, in places where there is no fast current, after carefully checking the strength and thickness of the ice (at least 10 – 12 centimeters). Public skating is permitted if the ice thickness is at least 25 centimeters;
- during ice fishing, it is not recommended to punch many holes at close range, jump and run on the ice, or gather in large groups;
- every fisherman, when going ice fishing, is recommended to have with him a life jacket and a line (rope) 15 – 20 meters long with a loop at one end and a weight of 400 – 500 grams at the other;
- having fallen through the ice, you should act quickly and decisively: throw a line attached to your belt towards the shore and, without sudden movements, try to get out onto solid ice, and then, lying on your stomach or back, move towards the shore, at the same time calling for help;< /li>
- When helping someone who has fallen through the ice, they are given ladders, boards, poles, ropes and other available means, while they should approach him while lying down, crawling, preferably leaning on objects that increase the support area. If there are two or more rescuers, then it is better to form a chain, holding each other’s legs.
You must follow certain rules of behavior and have the skills to assist those who have fallen through the ice. All it takes is for a person to spend 15 minutes in cold water, and everything can end very sadly. Potential victims of fragile ice are fishermen and children.
Ice that is at least 20 cm thick is considered relatively safe. It is green or bluish-green in color. Dirty, brownish-gray ice is usually already fragile. Do not test the strength of ice by jumping on it or kicking it. Properly equip yourself for winter fishing: take with you at least a minimum set of life-saving equipment: rope, stick, board, life jacket, crampons in order to get out.
Be sure to talk to your children about the dangers of playing on ice and teach them how to act. The most WRONG thing is to leave them unattended.
When helping a person who has fallen through the ice, be careful so that you don’t have to save two people. Arm yourself with a stick, pole, rope or board and carefully crawl towards the hole, evenly distributing your body weight over the surface, pushing the rescue device in front of you. Having approached the maximum possible safe distance to the hole, give the victim a stick, pole or throw a rope. When you begin to pull the victim out, ask him to use his legs: this will make it easier to pull him out of the hole. Move the victim to a safe place and provide first aid
According to information from the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Brest Regional Executive Committee.
