Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, February 23, 2008
Cold-water rescue drill highlights threat of hypothermia
 Two LaCrosse firemen positio their banana boat over a a man that had fallen through the ice in the lagoon at Pettibone park during a rescue demonstration. Dick Riniker photo |
Once a month, members of the La Crosse Fire Department plunge into an area waterway, even if they have to find a hole in the ice to do it.
It’s not done to show off, but to sharpen water rescue skills that can be called on at any time of the year, even winter.
“We just know that when we start to get some of those nice 50- or 60-degree days, people are going to want to get out and they’re going to head out onto frozen water,” said Kevin Kappauf, head of LCFD water training. “When they do that, it may not be strong enough and they’ll have to be rescued.”
Firefighters put those rescue skills on display Friday morning while fishing one of their own from the icy waters of Pettibone Lagoon.
As the firefighter waited patiently — in a hole broken in the ice by an aerator that provide extra oxygen for aquatic life in the lagoon — members of the department used a rope and later their inflated “banana boat” to help pull him to safety.
Getting the man out of the water was just the beginning of the drill. He then was transported to Franciscan Skemp Medical Center, where a full team of emergency workers went through what needs to be done to reverse the effects of hypothermia.
While having someone plucked from ice-cold water is an extreme example, people should be aware that hypothermia is a risk at any time of the year and in a variety of situations, Franciscan Skemp Trauma Coordinator Cheryl Parr said.
“It can happen in the event of motor vehicle accidents, when someone is outside in the elements for long periods of time. It can be if someone is outside for too long,” Parr said. “It can even happen indoors if an elderly person falls without being able to get up for days because blood flow is slowed by the lack of activity.”
Steve Sullivan, an urgent care nurse practitioner at Franciscan Skemp, said hypothermia also can come on gradually — and it can be deadly.
About 700 people in the U.S. die each year from accidental hypothermia.
Sullivan said it’s important that people know the signs of hypothermia. The key to reversing the effects, he said, is to get the person to shelter, wrap them in a sleeping bag or blanket and also warm them “from the inside out” by giving them warm liquids like sugary tea, hot chocolate or bouillon.
Dan Springer can be reached at dspringer@lacrossetribune. com or (608) 791-8269.
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