GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — With recovery efforts being suspended for the 25-year-old woman who fell into the Grand River Saturday night, it’s a grim yet important reminder of water and ice safety this time of year.
Captain Josh Veldkamp is a firefighter and program manager for the city's water rescue team, and he knows the ice this time of year.
“You have spots that are like an inch thick. You have spots that are six inches thick," said Captain Veldkamp. “And different styles of ice, whether it's like honeycomb ice, stuff that totally just crushes and crackles underneath your feet, or stuff that's super thick and solid.”
The captain also knows the danger of what ice can do to our bodies. Like hypothermia which occurs during when the body drops below 95 degrees.
“As soon as you're in there, your body's already getting negative impact, just with that cold water that's stripping away the body heat that you have," Veldkamp said. “You're going to lose control of your muscles, they're going to become tense, you're not going to be able to respond as you normally would when you become hypothermic.”
The reminder from GRFD comes at a good time, after the report of a woman falling into the Grand River, its important to know what to do in a similar situation.
“Once you're in the ice, the best tip is just to not panic," Veldkamp said. "Try to see if you can roll yourself out on top of the ice to get out of it. You can try to just break it with your forearm, or call out to whoever is around because time is going to be of the essence”.
And if you notice someone has fallen into a body of water don't just rush to help, because even the professionals need the best equipment to handle those situations. From thermal protected skin suits, boots, specialized helmets, blowout flotation devices, diving equipment, and so much more to help in the matter.
“Doesn't matter what the temperature is, a single zip up spot keeps us dry and all the water contaminants in the water are off of our persons," Veldkamp said. “For the wintertime, we'll wear a just a thermal garment, so just a onesie that we'll put on, just to add a little more barrier between us and the water, a little extra time and warmth.”
Even with much of West Michigan getting past last weeks arctic chill, it doesn't give us a free pass to hit the waters.
“We get the cold snaps, you get the sun that comes out, ice looks very inviting.” Veldkamp said. “If you're going to go on the ice, be safe. Know what ice is underneath before you just go out and on it. And make sure other people know where you're at and what you're doing.”
Captain Veldkamp says your safest best is to stay off and away from the ice at all times.
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