Rollins fire department hosts regional ice training

The weather and temperatures were near perfect when members of eight area fire departments came together last weekend to conduct a regional ice rescue training workshop. The training included a full range of exercises in Lake Mary Ronan using some of the latest in ice rescue techniques and equipment.

Hosted by the Rollins Volunteer Fire Department, a total of 30 trainees met for specialized instruction on Saturday morning and another 29 met on Sunday at the Rollins community building.

Fire departments from Hungry Horse, Somers, Rollins, Chief Cliff, Big Arm, Polson, Ronan and Martin City, as well as the Lake County Search and Rescue all participated in the training. Bigfork and other area fire departments were invited to take part in the training but declined.

The Rollins fire department brought in two instructors from the Riverland Community College in Austin, Minn. Sam Jaquith and Mike Shultz both work full-time as firefighters and rescue specialists, as well as instructors at the community college.

Jaquith boasts 26 years of experience as a firefighter, 25 of which he has also been an instructor. Schultz is a 15-year veteran and has worked along side Jaquith as an assistant instructor for the past 10 years.

The two have traveled extensively throughout the state of Minnesota, which is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, performing ice rescue trainings. Their trip to Montana represented one of the first trainings they have conducted together outside of Minnesota.

Riverland Community College is well known throughout the Midwest for its expertise in the field, having trained a significant number of the fire departments and emergency response teams in the southern portion of Minnesota.

"Riverland is huge," Schultz said. "It is amazing how much fire and rescue training comes out of that college. Rochester is now the second largest city in Minnesota, and we are fairly confident about our training ability and our training ethics.

"I told the guys, when we got out on the ice, we train like we live. We give 100 percent, and we're professionals. That way, we're always ready when we're called upon to respond. We know how to use the equipment and we're able to be at our best."

Rollins fire chief Tom Adrignola said he believed the training had been a huge success, although he was disappointed that some of the fire departments that had been invited to join the training had chosen not to do so.

"It was really good," Adrignola said. "These guys did an outstanding job. I think everyone got a lot out of it, both in the classroom and on the ice, and I think that everyone had a great time."

Some of the equipment used during the training included Mustang Ice Commander rescue suits, Stearns cold water rescue suits, Rescue Alive ice boats, submersible ice rescue sleds, several ice rescue loop slings for securing victims to their rescuers, ice awls that attach to sleeves of each suit and ice awls that screw into the ice to secure the line to the rescuer, ice cleats, distress strobe lights, several hundred feet of ice rescue rope and an ice rescue tether kit, personal floatation devices.

Trainees who participated in the exercises said they were impressed with the performance of the equipment and ice suits. Among them, 15-year-old Hunter Madich, who volunteers with the Rollins fire department and 18-year-old Colter Effertz, who volunteers with the Somers fire department and Lakeside QRU, along with several others, put on the Mustang ice rescue suits for the very first time.

"I thought they'd be kind of cold, but I was surprised by how warm they are," Madich said. "We're fortunate to have them, but you always hope that you won't need to use them."

"I kept really warm and dry," Effertz added. "I was almost hot when I was in the water. I definitely learned a lot."

Having chosen emergency response as his vocation, Effertz plans to attend the University of Montana and pursue an associate's degree in fire and rescue training, after which he will likely seek more advanced training. Effertz said he found both the classroom and hand-on training exercises to be informative, interesting and highly relevant for the Flathead.

Somers fire chief Rich Boon said he found the class to be a good refresher, since he had been through the classroom portion of the training before. Even so, he felt that being in the water with the hands-on exercises was a key component of the training in order for rescuers to be effective when they are called upon to respond in an ice rescue situation.

"The guys got a lot out of it," Boon said. "It's good training, especially for the area that we live in. You just never know when you may have to use it."

The firefighters and search and rescue personnel were also encouraged to see several members of the West Shore community come out to show their support and see how they train, as well as to gain confidence in the equipment and skills that local rescue personnel depend on to serve their communities as effectively as possible.

Schultz wished to thank the Rollins fire department and the sponsors who helped make the training the success it was.

"I have to say that the hospitality this region has show us has been impeccable," Shultz said. "They've taken us in like we were one their own."