VIDEO: Firefighters Plunge Into the Icy Deep

It's known that firefighters can take the heat. But on Friday, Feb. 25, about 20 state firefighters plunged into the watery cold during an ice-safety seminar at a reservoir off Route 152. Massachusetts Fire Academy instructors trained the all-male company in rescue techniques including rope systems, ice pick maneuvering, and how to effectively pull themselves out of icy entrapments.

According to academy instructors, firefighters from Seekonk, Lakeville, Rehoboth, Attleboro, Norton, and other towns worked together to practice rescue techniques.

The elements tried their best to trip up the operation; firefighters were constantly slipping outside the pond's ice openings. But safety was the name of the game. Before going out on the ice, every firefighter was suited up with a nylon jumpsuit and life preserver. 

"I'm toasty in here, except my forehead," said one Seekonk firefighter who was completed encased in an orange two-layer suit.

One of the most popular techniques for saving someone trapped in the ice: using ice picks to traverse the ice. Ropes are also used to pull a firefighter and the victim out of the frigid waters.

According top Fire Chief Alan Jack, the location was moved after ice was too thick at the original location.

"It was close to two-feet thick," he said.

About six ice-safety courses are held a year throughout various locations.