Many Maritime lakes and ponds are starting to thaw after temperatures reached the double digits on the weekend, but some people are still taking a risk by venturing out onto thin ice.
“We’ve seen numerous people during unsafe conditions out on the ice, whether it was fishing, children and parents skating, the list is just endless,” says Jeff McNeil, director of the Port Morien Wildlife Association.
McNeil and his group are now taking it upon themselves to raise the alarm about the dangers of thin ice.
“It’s better to have a guy alive than dead because he walks on the wrong ice or takes a chance,” says ice fisherman John Kennedy.
Kennedy says he has seen many close calls over the years because people don’t always use common sense.
“My father-in-law was walking across a piece of ice that was heavier than me, and the ice was going up and down, up and down,” recalls Kennedy. “I said to myself, I’m not going out there to drag you out buddy, but he would get out there and sit there and fish.”
There have been a number of close calls on Maritime waters this winter, many of which involved pets. This past weekend, a Hants County, N.S. woman and her two dogs were rescued after falling through the ice on a river at a local park.
Saturday in Fredericton, a dog plunged into the frigid St. John River after it fell through a weak ice patch. It took firefighters dressed in special uniforms 20 minutes to rescue the dog.
Last month, a dog fell though the ice and into the freezing water on Cape Breton’s Eskasoni First Nation. Two Good Samaritans canoed out to the dog, busted through the ice, and rescued the pet.
McNeil says wandering out onto thin ice is not only dangerous; it can endanger the lives of first responders as well.
“The way we see it, there’s no point for somebody to risk their life or the life of a first responder to get out and have to save these guys, just for a couple of fish or a fun day with family, and you end up falling through,” says McNeil.
The Canadian Red Cross says people should examine its guidelines before venturing onto a frozen lake or pond; it says ice should be 15 cm thick for skating, 20 cm thick for skating parties or games, and 25 cm thick for snowmobiles to cross the surface.
The organization also says anyone who falls through the ice should resist the urge to climb back out where they fell in, as the ice is weak in that area. It says you shouldn’t stand up but should crawl on your stomach or roll away to an open area after reaching the surface.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore
