Fire Chief emphasizes ice safety after child rescued from pond in Galena

GALENA, Ohio (WCMH) -- A child is recovering after falling through thin ice at a retention pond in Galena. 

Berkshire, Sunbury, Trenton and Galena (BST&G) Fire District, along with Delaware County EMS and Sunbury Police, arrived on the scene around 4 p.m. Sunday.

According to BST&G Fire Chief Christopher Kovach, there was a person nearby on the Ohio to Erie bike path who noticed the child in the middle of a frozen pond, alerting authorities.
BST&G fire crews were able to successfully rescue the child, who was taken to the hospital and expected to make a full recovery. 

Fire crews are now using this incident as a teaching tool. Kovach is asking everyone to stay off all ice-covered bodies of water. He said incidents like this are why their crews undergo rigorous training. 

"There's a running joke that there's no 9-1-2," Kovach said. "So when they call the fire department, they expect people to show up and know what to do and have the answers to their problem."

With recent fluctuations in temperatures, Kovach said it's extra important to be careful around ice.

"Central Ohio is a little bit unique in that our weather changes constantly here, so when you get these big fluctuations in temperature, no ice is safe ice," Kovach said. "You can't assume that just because its been colder for a week that ice is going to be able to support your body weight." 

Kovach said this is not something they see every day. However, the U.S. Census Bureau shows Delaware County is the fastest-growing county in the state, which Kovach said could make this a growing problem. 

"We are seeing a tremendous amount of residential and multifamily apartment growth," Kovach said. "Any time these developments come in, we wind up with another half dozen ponds and detention basins."

Kovach said Ohioans should always leave incidents like this up to the professionals.

"Don't trust it," Kovach said. "Stay off the ice. Even if you see somebody go into the water, we don't want you to try to go in after them because now we have two victims."

Kovach said a lot of it comes down to education. 

"We recommend to everybody, stay off of all ice," Kovach said. "There are signs posted around most of these ponds and detention basins and retention basins. Follow the signs. Talk to your kids. Educate them about the dangers involved with these types of situations. We love to meet our residents, but this isn't the way that we want to do it."

Kovach said Sunday's incident was a matter of someone being in the right place at the right time, which isn't always the case.

"Events like this typically have a tragic ending," Kovach said. "We're very fortunate that that cyclist was on the path at that time or this could've had a completely different turn of events."

With temperatures as low as they are this week, things will continue to freeze over.