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Asbury Park firefighters held their annual ice rescue training sessions this week on Deal Lake.

The fire department practices around this time if temperatures get cold enough to freeze the tops of the lakes in the region, honing their ice rescue training skills just in case someone happens to fall through the ice, according to Garrett Giberson, a spokesman for the Asbury Park Fire Department.

The firefighters are split into four tours to complete the training sessions over a few days this week, he said.

Every firefighter participates in the training and is assigned a different task based on their skills as far as swimming and other abilities, he said. Jobs include rescue swimmers, tenders who take care of the lines, spotters, secondary swimmers and primary swimmers.

A chainsaw or an axe is used on day one to cut the hole in the ice and firefighters who step up to the plate to play the role of the victim don dry suits, according to Giberson.

With temperatures in the teens, Giberson speculates the water temperatures to be “in the low 30s,” he said.

“The suits keep the firefighters completely dry if they have to enter into the water,” said Giberson. They are also equipped with fins, flotation devices, ropes and picks, he said.

Giberson can’t remember anyone falling through the ice in recent years. However, since three lakes are situated in the area, Deal Lake to the north, Wesley Lake to the south and Sunset Lake in between, there is always a potential of people falling though the ice and it’s always good to be prepared, he said.

The trainings don’t come with any certificates, rather they serve to keep the firefighters more proficient at the tasks that may present themselves in that line of work, he said.

“The more you do something, the better you get at it,” Giberson said.

Firefighters in Asbury Park conduct various training sessions throughout the year, he said. Surface water rescue, ocean water rescue, ladder placement exercises, and high angle rescue training are a few of them.

[Photos provided courtesy of Garrett Giberson.]

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