Fire, police agencies warn residents of dangers of thawing ice on ponds and streams

News 12 has reported on two incidents involving dangerously thin ice in the last week.

News 12 Staff

Feb 13, 2023, 10:37 PM

Updated 607 days ago

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Fire and police agencies are warning people not to walk over ponds and streams that are usually frozen solid this time of year.
News 12 has reported on two incidents involving dangerously thin ice in the last week.
In one incident at Taconic State Park, News 12 is told two teenagers fell through ice. One survived, but the other teen died later at the hospital.
Search-and-rescue teams say if someone falls through the ice, other people nearby should stay calm and stay ashore.
"If someone else falls through the ice, do not go in after them. Call 911 and try to give them a rope or a tree branch or jumper cables out of your car, and use that to try to get to them so they can pull themselves out. The last thing you want to do is go to help somebody and find yourself in trouble as well," says David Gilman, of Gardiner Fire and Rescue.
In the other incident, which was in Orange County, rescue divers responded to a pond where it appeared a child may have fallen partway through ice. That child was located on land and is OK.