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| Members of area fire and first aid squads representing the 11th District of the New Jersey First Aid Council practice cold-water and ice rescues in Keyport. |
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KEYPORT - Members of several first aid and fire departments spent a weekend recently in the frigged waters of Raritan Bay so they’ll be ready should an area resident become a victim of an ice or cold-water accident.
The two-day class, staged by Team Lifeguard Systems, had volunteers reenacting rescues in the water, and preparing to help their neighbors in incidents on frozen or unsafe waterways during the winter months.
“We’re doing this for the simple reason that we don’t have formal training for the rescues that we could have at our own front door,” said Ken Krohe captain of the Keyport First Aid Squad and the Mobilization Coordinator for the 11th District of the New Jersey First Aid Council.
Some 47 men and women completed the strenuous course, representing fire and first aid squads from Atlantic Highlands, Keyport, Keansburg, Matawan, Union Beach, East Brunswick, Middletown and Aberdeen.
“This is an outstanding class,” said Ed Ivans, president of the Jersey Shore Search and Rescue Team. “What you learn here can carry over into other rescue work.”
Fire and first aid team members participating in the two-day, 16-hour class hosted by the Keyport First Aid Squad gave up their weekend to learn how to safely execute rescues on the water and how to run such emergency operations from the shoreline. They were also trained to provide the best possible care for patients in terrible weather conditions to assure the rescuer’s safety as well as the victim.
“We’ve been lucky,” Krohe said. “We have a waterfront and in the past we’ve had a few water and ice rescues. Having this class will benefit the community.”
The first step, of course, is trying to prevent the accidents before they happen.
“We need to remind our children and their friends not to venture out onto unsafe ice,” said Atlantic Highlands First Aid captain Jerry Pandolfo.
For information on becoming a volunteer check out the New Jersey First Aid Council’s website at http://www.njsfac.org
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