SWP - Ice Rescue

Rescue of a person who has gone through the ice or is stranded on ice, from shore, from the ice surface, or from an inflatable platform, at the department’s declared ice rescue level (Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program section 5.1). Shore-based crews use steps 1 to 6; operations-level ice teams continue. It applies at incidents and in the pre-season refresher.

• The rescuer going through the ice: cold shock in the first minute, about ten minutes of useful movement, about an hour before hypothermia brings unconsciousness, the 1-10-1 principle (Lifesaving Society, n.d.).
• Thin, rotten, moving or layered ice; open leads; current under the ice; pressure cracks; snow cover hiding the condition; several rescuers on the same weak area.
• Untethered rescuers; a tether with no quick release; a shore team that cannot hold or haul.
• Victims who pull the rescuer under; hypothermic victims who collapse when lifted vertically.
• Bystanders and family on the ice; darkness; wind chill; frostbite in the shore team.
• Slips and falls on the shore and on the ice; vehicles driven onto ice.

1. Elimination. Nobody goes on the ice if the victim can be reached by voice, reach or throw, or if the victim can self-rescue with instruction and a thrown flotation.
2. Substitution. An inflatable platform, a sled or a board pushed from shore before a rescuer crawls; a boat where open water allows.
3. Engineering. Ice rescue suits with inherent flotation to an immersion suit standard; tethers on quick-release harnesses; a belay line from shore run through the logged rope kit; flotation for the victim; ice awls, picks and a throw bag on the rescuer.
4. Administrative. This procedure; the progression (talk, reach, throw, row, go); one rescuer on the ice at a time unless the procedure’s exception is recorded; the back-up rescuer suited before the first goes out; the flotation rule for everyone near the edge; the pre-season refresher in the water; rehab and re-warming (MLITSD, n.d., GN 6-3).
5. PPE. Ice rescue suit, water rescue helmet, gloves, Canadian-approved flotation for the shore team (Small Vessel Regulations [CA], 2026), ice cleats, whistle and light.

Two ice rescue suits (rescuer and back-up); quick-release tether harnesses and tethers; the belay line and rope kit; throw bags; reach pole; inflatable platform, sled or board; victim flotation (a ring or PFD on a line); ice awls and picks; thermal blankets and a warming kit; patient packaging (basket, backboard); radio and hand-signal plan; lighting; medical equipment and oxygen; a plan and equipment for the rescuer going through.

Shore-based: the first-arriving company. Operations: an officer in charge at the shore, a rescuer and a back-up rescuer in suits, a shore team of at least three on the tether and belay, a throw-bag team, medical, and a safety officer; every ice team member trained to the ice rescue job performance requirements (NFPA 1006, 2021) with this season’s refresher on record.

1. Hold the shore. Command at the shore; bystanders and family off the ice and back from the edge; apparatus parked back on firm ground; everyone within the water’s-edge distance in flotation.
2. Size up. Victim (number, position, in the water or on the ice, conscious, holding on, time in the water), distance from shore, ice condition (colour, thickness if known, snow, cracks, open water, current, inflow and outflow), approach routes, wind and light, the time cold water allows. Complete the water rescue size-up card (Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program section 17.1).
3. Talk. Reassure the victim; tell them to stay still, kick their legs to the surface and hold the ice edge; stop them from trying to climb out repeatedly.
4. Reach. A pole, a ladder slid out, a line passed along the ice, where the distance allows.
5. Throw. A throw bag or a ring on a line to the victim; instruct them to put it under their arms or clip it; the shore team pulls gently and steadily. Decision point: is the victim holding flotation and responsive to instruction? If yes, continue hauling from shore; a go rescue is not yet needed.
6. Row. The inflatable platform or a boat pushed from shore where open water or weak ice allows it.
7. Go (operations level only). The rescuer suits up (suit checked: zipper, seals, flotation, helmet, gloves), harness and tether attached with the quick release reachable, the belay line attached and the shore team in position; the back-up rescuer suited and ready; the rescuer-through-the-ice plan briefed. Decision point: back-up suited, shore team of three on the lines, communication tested? If not, nobody goes.
8. Approach low and spread (crawling or on the platform) to distribute weight, along the route sized up, probing ahead; carrying flotation for the victim and a throw bag; one rescuer on the ice at a time.
9. Contact. Give the victim flotation first; approach from the side or behind; never let the victim grab the rescuer’s head or neck; place the victim on the platform or secure them in the sling; signal the shore team.
10. Haul. The shore team hauls the rescuer and the victim on the tether; the rescuer does not try to pull the victim out alone; the belay stays ready; the haul is steady, and the rescuer keeps the victim horizontal.
11. At the shore, the victim is handled gently and horizontally, packaged, insulated and warmed; medical care under the department’s protocols; the rescuer out of the suit and re-warmed under SWP - Rehabilitation at Incidents and Training.
12. Close. Count everyone; suits, tethers and lines inspected, dried and logged; AAR scheduled.

• Rescuer through the ice: the rescuer’s suit floats them; the shore team hauls on the tether; the back-up goes only on the officer’s order, on their own tether and belay; the belay line is the second system.
• Victim submerges: mark the point; the rescuer does not dive; the operation changes to a search by the dive partner or recovery; command records the decision.
• Hypothermic rescuer or victim collapse: horizontal handling, gentle, insulated, warm; oxygen; medical.
• Tether fouled or frozen: the rescuer releases with the quick release only if the belay line is attached and the shore team confirms; otherwise holds position for the back-up.

The size-up card and the incident report with the victim’s time in the water, the progression used and the times; equipment logged (Form - Rope and Rescue Equipment Log for tethers and lines; the PFD and suit record for suits). Every ice response gets a Tier 1 AAR; any unplanned immersion of a rescuer, any tether that would not release, and any near miss with potential for death goes to Tier 2 (Incident Investigation and Learning Program).

Ice rescue job performance requirements; a pre-season refresher in the water every year before ice season, including the rescuer-through-the-ice drill and the quick release under load; throw-bag drills twice a year for all members. The Water and Ice Rescue Program Improvement Team reviews this procedure every three years, after every event in section 8, and on any change in suits, platforms or ice conditions in the district; the JOHSC is consulted.

Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program; Rope Rescue Program; SWP - Rope Rescue Systems Rigging and Inspection; SWP - Swiftwater Rescue; SWP - Boat Operations; SWP - Rehabilitation at Incidents and Training; Checklist - Water, Ice and Marine Operations.

This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.

Lifesaving Society. (n.d.). Cold water and ice (the 1-10-1 principle) [Web page]. https://www.lifesavingsociety.com/water-safety/cold-water-and-ice.aspx

Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development [MLITSD]. (n.d.). Firefighter guidance notes (Section 21 Advisory Committee; individual notes revised to 2026). https://www.ontario.ca/document/firefighter-guidance-notes