A false alarm on Kempenfelt Bay this past weekend gave Barrie Fire's hovercraft crew the chance to take the machine out for a training spin.
Assistant Deputy Chief Derek Wilson told BarrieToday there was a call Saturday that initially went to police about what appeared to be a person in distress on Kempenfelt Bay.
“Police had requested that we go on standby, but it turned out there were some people skating out on the ice and whoever called it in figured they were in distress,” Wilson said. “As it turns out, everyone was fine — they came in and there was no real incident.”
With everyone OK, Wilson said firefighters took the opportunity to give the hovercraft a test run out on the ice.
“It wasn’t a formal exercise, but they figured since the hovercraft was already out there, they might as well run it up a little bit and get some practice,” he said. “We haven’t had many calls this season and often there isn't anyone in actual distress, which is what you always hope for.”
Wilson said it usually legitimately concerned observers who make the call to emergency services.
“Definitely it can be tricky sometimes. Folks will see someone and then not see them for a moment and assume they’ve fallen through. We do get busier for calls needing the hovercraft this time of year as you start to get break up of the ice,” he said. “This is around the time it's particularly important to be careful out on the lake, though I would say there is never a time to not be careful out there.”
With Lake Simcoe being such a large body of water, with many different currents, Wilson said those unfamiliar with the lake should always be extra cautious.
The city's fire and police departments share lake responsibilities, with the firefighters' on-lake duties likely soon to wrap up.
“The best way to remember it is that open water is police and ice is us,” Wilson said. “We usually have it until the ice is gone and the hovercraft doesn’t operate well in choppy water anyway.”
