Ice rescue training.

Video by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief. 

RIVERTON TOWNSHIP — Today’s weather was cold, windy and snowy, but that didn’t stop members of the Riverton Township Fire Department from spending their Sunday afternoon wading in North Oxbow Lake, training for an ice rescue. Several area fire departments, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, are trained in ice rescue.

“Our coverage area has several inland lakes, along with the Pere Marquette River, so it just makes sense that our firefighters are trained for such a rescue,” Fire Chief Joe Cooper said. “We hope we never have to use these skills but we are certainly prepared if we do.”