NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
***************************
Members of the Southern Georgian Bay Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to remind all area residents, cottagers and ice surface users to stay clear of our area frozen surfaces as spring ice conditions are here now creating possible dangerous situations for you and responding emergency services personnel.
Every year, needless preventable tragedies occur on our area ice surfaces which could have been avoided and emergency services are counting on you to make that decision to stay off the ice.
No ice is safe ice and any ice surface user that must travel on the current ice surface conditions should be wearing proper survival clothing/suit, having a fully charged cell phone along with telling a friend neighbour or family member or your destination is strongly suggested.
The following links have further safety suggestions:
• Red Cross
• Cold Water Boot Camp
North Simcoe area fire services are equipped and trained in ice and water rescue incidents, however valuable time is lost in determining and attending incident locations. Aerial support can also be called upon through the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) in Trenton with arrival time being lengthy to unknown leaving "self- rescue" as your only option.
The importance of "self-rescue" can not be over stressed and remember "we're all in it together" and these rescues put the victim and emergency services personnel at risk.
A future update will be provided as the commercial shipping season is soon to open and an ice breaker may precede a commercial ship into Midland harbour in the near future.
***************************
