‘Get Me Out of Here!’

Patterson —On the coldest morning of 2010, a dozen members of the Patterson Fire Department braved 5-degree air temperature with wind chills well below zero and, after donning special gear and breaking through six inches of ice, entered the frigid waters of a pond adjacent to fire department headquarters.

Chief Matt Szpindor provides instructions to Adam Stiebeling, Pete Duke, and Dave Orifici. Eric Gross Patterson Fire Chief Frank Smith, who was in command of the rescue operation, told the Courier, “each winter, emergency calls are received for a variety of ice rescues. Someone might see their dog fall through the ice and instinctively run out to save the pet, only to find themselves partially submerged in arctic-like conditions. People ice skating on a frozen surface that is too thin can also easily wind up in trouble. Our philosophy in the emergency services profession is: ‘No ice is safe ice!’ The thickness of ice can vary from six inches to one inch within a matter of feet.”

Matt Szpindor (left) is submerged in the arctic water while firefighter Dave Orifici is about to enter. ERIC GROSS Most fire departments have the capability for an ice rescue. The Patterson FD has 15 to 20 members certified at the technician level. The department’s ice rescue team falls under the supervision of assistant chief Matt Szpindor, a certified instructor who spent several weeks in New Hampshire becoming certified.

Szpindor put several of the recruits through the paces, all of whom were wearing special protective gear. “We may look cold but we are actually warm as toast,” said the chief as sweat poured down his brow while assisting firefighters Adam Stiebeling, Pete Duke, and Dave Orifici.

Stiebeling, a former fire chief in Patterson and currently Putnam’s Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services, said he looked forward to the drill for some time: “It’s nice to know that we are prepared in the event of a wintertime ice and water rescue—be it a person falling through the ice or an auto crash when a car crashes through the frozen surface.”

Last week, an 18-year-old Dutchess County teenager died when her car drove off the road, down an embankment, and overturned into a frozen pond before becoming submerged.

Stiebeling said: “It happened a few miles away. Such a tragedy can occur here as well. Now we are prepared!”