Rollins Fire Dept. gets new ice suits

By JACOB DORAN / Bigfork Eagle

While most people were celebrating Winterfest on Blacktail Mountain or shooting sporting clays across from the Sliters old store in Somers, volunteers from the Rollins Volunteer Fire Department were doing their second ice rescue training in Rollins Bay.

Having cut a hole in the ice early Saturday morning, Jan. 26, fire department personnel gathered on the shore to take turns suiting up in the new Mustang Ice Commander rescue suits for a go at pulling someone out of the water and using some of the ice rescue tools recently purchased through a grant from Roundup for Safety.

The fire department received $3,653 from Roundup for Safety, last spring, toward the purchase of the equipment. The remaining $2,447 of the $6,100 needed for the equipment came from the fire department and volunteers.

Under the guidance of former fire chief Don Armstrong, who spearheaded the effort to acquire the ice rescue gear, the department was able to purchase four Mustang Ice Commander rescue suits and vital accessories that may one day save lives.

Due to the cost—each suit costs approximately $600—the company allowed the department to try the suits out before purchasing them.

Along with the suits, the department also purchased a submersible ice rescue sled, several ice rescue loop slings for securing victims to the rescuer, ice awls that attach to the sleeves of each suit, six pair of ice cleats, six distress strobe lights (along with two backups), 600 ft. of ice rescue rope, one 300 ft. ice rescue tether kit, four ice awls that screw into the ice and secure the line to the rescuer, anchors that secure the line to the ice and act as a miniature auger, six personal floatation devices and four storage bags to hold the equipment.

In 2007, 53safety projects were completed through Roundup for Safety, an opt-out program that is funded by rounding up FEC customers' bills to the nearest dollar. The amount that each customer contributes usually comes to between one and six dollars per year—an amount that adds up to between $225,000 and $250,000, which is awarded to community projects annually, thus benefiting all of the members.

Roundup for Safety liaison and FEC spokesman Mike Radel noted that the small amount paid by the members of the coop each year accomplished a tremendous amount for the community.

Radel said that when the Kalispell fire department received a similar grant to purchase ice rescue equipment, it was able to save a life in less than six months time.

"The equipment is expensive, but in comparison to the life that was saved, it was worth every penny that our members have contributed."

The Rollins fire department hopes to send two or three volunteers to Polson, later this month, for a three-day training, to become certified as trainers themselves and help make more effective use of the newly purchased gear.

"The suits are great," volunteer Bob Rodman said. "With more training, we will certainly be a lot faster and better prepared for an emergency. These are such time critical rescues. We keep our equipment as close to one of engines as possible, so that our people can report to the fire hall, run in, grab the equipment and go. The more training the faster we're able to be and the better prepared we are to respond."