Be careful you icenutz!

[shucker]

By JESSICA MASULLI REYES
jmasulli@njherald.com

Just hours after Hopatcong Fire Department conducted an ice rescue drill on Sunday, the firefighters had to put the practice to use when a man on an ice boat fell into the frigid waters of Lake Hopatcong.

On Sunday at 1:41 p.m., Hopatcong Fire Department was called to Pickerel Point for a report of a man partially in the water about 200 feet off shore, according to First Assistant Chief Steve Kucevic. Someone on the shoreline had seen the man struggling on the lake.

The man had been on an ice boat, which resembles a sail boat, when he entered a large “stress crack” in the lake. The boat became pinned between the ice and water, causing the boat to tip over, Kucevic said. The man’s leg was injured in the fall.

Kucevic said the fire department had a difficult time getting the man to shore due to the large opening in the ice. It took about 45 minutes.

The Hopatcong Ambulance Squad, the Roxbury Fire Department and New Jersey State Police assisted at the scene. A landing zone was prepared at the Hopatcong State Park for a helicopter, but it was not used.

The man was instead taken by ambulance to a local hospital for the leg injury, Kucevic said.

Kucevic said ice rescues usually occur on Lake Hopatcong about two to three times a year. Sunday’s rescue was the only one so far this year.

Because of this, most local fire departments prepare with ice rescue drills.

Hopatcong has about four to five drills a year and had one on Sunday morning at 9 a.m., about five hours before the rescue.

“We expect these kinds of calls,” Kucevic said.

He recommends as a first resort, staying off the ice in the winter, but he said if you do go out, make sure someone knows you are on the ice and that you have clear communication with someone on land.

“Just be very careful,” he said.