Durango Fire Department practices rescues on icy lakes

Durango Fire EMS Training Captain Leo Lloyd watches from shore as volunteer Vance Clegg (and a pediatric victim mannequin) are pulled to shore in the rescue raft during a department rescue training exercise Dec. 19 on Turner Lake in the Falls Creek subdivision.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District

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Durango Fire EMS Training Captain Leo Lloyd watches from shore as volunteer Vance Clegg (and a pediatric victim mannequin) are pulled to shore in the rescue raft during a department rescue training exercise Dec. 19 on Turner Lake in the Falls Creek subdivision.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District

Firefighter and medic Fred Hutt rescues Durango Fire Training Capt. Scott Gallagher during a department rescue training exercise Dec. 19 on Turner Lake in the Falls Creek subdivision.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District

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Firefighter and medic Fred Hutt rescues Durango Fire Training Capt. Scott Gallagher during a department rescue training exercise Dec. 19 on Turner Lake in the Falls Creek subdivision.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District

Durango Fire Protection District firefighter and medic Fred Hutt and volunteer Vance Clegg rescue a pediatric victim mannequin from Turner Lake during a simulated rescue training exercise Dec. 19 on Turner Lake in the Falls Creek subdivision.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District

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Durango Fire Protection District firefighter and medic Fred Hutt and volunteer Vance Clegg rescue a pediatric victim mannequin from Turner Lake during a simulated rescue training exercise Dec. 19 on Turner Lake in the Falls Creek subdivision.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District

Staff of the Durango Fire Protection District conducted a simulated ice rescue and cold-water drowning exercise last week on Turner Lake in Falls Creek. Leo Lloyd, an EMS training captain, said the department does an annual training so that medical and rescue workers can perform real-time, realistic scenarios. The training includes simulating multiple people who have broken through ice on a pond or lake. Lloyd said the exercise not only helped train for an ice rescue but also gave medical and rescue staff the opportunity to perform a full pediatric cold water drowning resuscitation in the back of an ambulance using realistic mannequins and other props. “Incorporating complex scenario-based exercises is just one of the many ways DFPD provides productive EMS and fire training to our staff,” Lloyd said. “Many thanks to the Falls Creek Subdivision for allowing us the opportunity to do this.”