Michael McCarthy stood on the bottom of Lake Lillinonah Sunday morning, March 8, with a clear view of the surface. “We were standing on the bottom beneath a hole in the ice and we could see guys on the top,” he said. The view was “really great.”

He and other Newtown Underwater Search And Rescue (NUSAR) members Jeremy Stein and Hans Williams were suited up in thermals and dive suits, participating in a monthly drill — this month conducted at the boat ramp off of Hanover Road.

Drills take place throughout the year, and divers practice scenarios including retrieving a car from the water or rescuing a person or family pet that has gotten stuck out on the ice, said NUSAR Vice President John Almstead. On other occasions the NUSAR divers might practice winter drills at the Newtown High School pool. They still wear their warm thermal undergarments “as if going into the ice,” he said.

The ice rescue training on March 8 “went very well,” Mr Almstead said, considering the ice and snow was nearly 22 inches thick near Hanover boat launch when adding the layer of snow on top.

Imagining a scenario where a vehicle, ATV, or snowmobile goes into the ice, NUSAR divers prep for the cold. When the team dives, they use a primary diver and what Mr Almstead said are 100 percent and 90 percent backups. Before divers enter the water, a 100-foot tether is dropped in, “so if they get disoriented they can pull themselves back up or the backups can pull them in,” he said. This winter the teams have practiced “getting divers to the ice and diving in extreme cold and in extreme conditions.”

Describing the recent dive drill, Mr McCarthy said, “It was dark, but we have lights on our masks; we had about 20 feet of visibility with no algae. The three participants dove in about 26 feet of water to reach the lake’s soft, silty bottom.

In a case where an accident victim is under the ice, Mr McCarthy said, “People in colder water have a longer survivability time — there is a longer time period, up to an hour, for medical resuscitation time.” Any resuscitation efforts depend on the person, body style, and age, he said. “Children actually have a higher survivability rate — their bodies cool off faster, and they don’t have an adult’s bad habits,” Mr McCarthy said.

As with any other drill, he added, “We were preparing.” NUSAR is backup to the town’s fire companies, and gets the call if someone slips into the water, he said.

As of early March, NUSAR has had a lucky winter, without any rescue calls. But in past years, they have had calls for family pet, and deer rescues.

While they have not yet had to rescue a person who has fallen through the ice, Mr McCarthy said they have retrieved “quite a few dogs.” He said the feeling is, “We will rescue the pet, because if not, there will be a person going out to rescue the pet.”

Dogs may be out playing and go off the ice, and people may take out a canoe or inflatable and try to get their pet and get stuck and break through the ice. Mr McCarthy advises, “What they should do is call 911 and contact the fire department. We will come out and do the rescue, whether human or pet,” he said.

Mr Almstead warns residents to “be careful around ice in general, and when in doubt, don’t go out.” Although the ice could be thick in some areas, “It could shift, especially with water underneath — the thing about ice, it’s never safe.”

In areas of the lake near roadways, drainage spots, or where I-84 passes over the lake, salt and chemicals in the water runoff “could be eroding the ice,” said Mr Almstead. The runoff weakens the ice, he said. “It might look like ice, but it could only be a few inches thick.”

With the warming weather, Mr Almstead said, “There could be soft spots.” Areas of cracking along the shore could also occur if FirstLight Power raises or lowers the water level.

Mr McCarthy said, “Right now people need to be more cautious. Ice will start ‘going rotten.’” As temperatures rise and soften the ice, it is not as strong “and people could have issues with falling through that,” he said. “People should really be staying off the ice.”