Lifesaving Resources (lifesaving.com) completed its 19th season of ice rescue training courses for First Responders this past weekend during which time they graduated 20 new Ice Rescue Technicians.  The graduates represented Fire, Rescue, EMS, and Law Enforcement agencies from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Kansas, and Alaska.  

During this intensive and comprehensive training program, the students participated in 3-hours of classroom and 6-hours of on/through-the-ice practical sessions.  What made this class especially difficult was working in 7 degree F weather with wind chill below 0 degrees F.  

Lifesaving Resources first started conducting Ice Rescue training in 1998 when the company relocated to New Hampshire from the metropolitan Washington D.C. area and realized that many Public Safety and Rescue agencies did not have the training or equipment required to safely and effectively respond to emergency incidents on and through the ice.  Then, in 2002, they conducted their first INTERNATIONAL ICE RESCUE TRAIN-THE-TRAINER ACADEMY.  Since then, they have trained over 350 Instructors representing Public Safety and Rescue Agencies from throughout North America.  These instructors, in turn, now train several thousand personnel each year.  Besides Ice Rescue, the company also develops and conducts Water Rescue and Swiftwater Rescue training for the Public Safety and Rescue Sector, including their annual INTERNATIONAL WATER RESCUE TRAIN-THE-TRAINER ACADEMY, and they conduct Lifeguard Operations and Management Training for the Lifeguard and Aquatic Recreation Sector.