CLAY TOWNSHIP ‒ Firefighters from Clay and Harris townships were out on the ice today for ice rescue training. They say it's fun, but also important, after two separate rescues last month.

First they're zipped up in cold water rescue suits, and following a few checks, members from made their way to the icy shore for a training session.

The process seemed easy. Firefighters hopped in the icy waters, and using a rope and large clip they're pulled to safety.

"We want to make everything as realistic as possible," said Brian Kazmierzak, firefighter for Clay Township. "We want to put them in a realistic environment so they are equipped when the call happens."

The water/ice rescue training is Kazmierzak's favorite.

"It's just a fun training and you learn a lot," he said.

He also knows this training is very important for the people his department serves.

"A couple of times throughout winter months someone is performing a rescue or responding to a call of a car in the water," Kazmierzak said.

Neighboring fire departments responded to two water rescues recently.

Mishawaka and South Bend firefighters pulled a woman out of the St. Joseph River on December 29. Eyewitnesses said after the woman put her car in reverse outside the Martin's Grocery Store on Ironwood, she barreled straight through a gate and guardrail into the river. Her vehicle was submerged in water about 6-feet-deep.

She survived the incident because her rescuers were well-trained.

One week earlier, South Bend firefighters rescued a man and his four-month-old daughter out of his Toyota Highlander SUV. Police say he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a shallow end of the river following a medical episode. Both victims were okay.

Kazmierzak said even in neighborhoods with retention ponds, he ice can give a false sense of security. Especially in areas close to shore.

"We really want parents to teach their children to stay off the ice," he said. "It's not safe."

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Reported on www.wsbt.com by John Paul (jpaul@wsbt.com)