Fire Crews dive into the river in the name of safety - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Fire Crews dive into the river in the name of safety

By: Jillian Wilson

jwilson@cbs4qc.com

Last week a man drowned in Sabula Lake.

Now fire crews in Camanche are doing everything they can to make sure it doesn't happen agains.

Folks in Clinton county learned firsthand what to do if you fall in the ice.

"If you panic, you could die in just a few minutes, so you got to keep calm, try to get yourself out and when you do get out, get warm right away," says Karla Yahn, a Clinton resident.

Even youngsters were impacted by the real life scene.

"You're going to call 9–1–1," says Rece Taylor, Camanche resident.

It's all part of the Camanche fire department's ice rescue demonstration.

Volunteers plunged into freezing cold temperatures to show folks what to do in an emergency.

And the assistant fire chief tells CBS 4, it's no problem getting the rookies in the water.

"This particular type of training the guys like to do, they get to say hey, I went swimming in the river in the middle of winter time," says Jeff Moore, assistant fire chief, Camanche fire department.

Now folks like Karla Yahn will feel confident if something ever happens out on the ice.

"if I ever fall in the river, which I have a couple times when I was a kid out messing around camping in the winter, if I ever needed to help somebody else just simple common things on how to help somebody," says Yahn.

Fire crews say whether you're ice fishing, skiing, or hiking, make sure you do it with a partner.