FDIC was a great opportunity for Mustang to hear feedback from so many people who use our gear as part of their job. It was also a chance for us to learn about other products that would interest people that use our gear.

One of those products that I came across at FDIC was the Ram-Air Gear Dryer, a vertical dryer used by Fire Departments to quickly dry gear after use and have ready for the next mission. I stopped by the Ram-Air booth and met with company president, Lance Dornn, to see one of the dryers for myself.

Lance uses Mustang’s Ice Commander Ice Rescue Suit to demonstrate how his company’s dryers work. Instead of using heat, the Ram-Air Dryer uses pressure forced, ambient air which can even get into those hard to reach places including the insides of gloves! The dryer has an automatic timer that can be set for up to 12 hours so that you can control drying time based on what type of gear needs to be dried.

Does your department use the Ram-Air Dryer? Leave a comment on OutThere and tell other Mustang users how it works for you!

For more information about Ram-Air and their dryers, visit www.ramairgeardryer.com.

This ice rescue story was passed to us by Gerry Dworkin of Lifesaving Resources. Alexander Nicholas, a graduate of their Ice Rescue Train-the-Trainer Academy is a volunteer firefighter for the Village of Greenwood Lake who trains their team for incidents like these. He also took part in the rescue.

From Time-Herald Record:

Police rescued four men who were stranded ice fishing on Greenwood Lake yesterday afternoon, including two that fell through the ice.

Detective Sgt. John Hansen said the men had been ice fishing on the lake, about 200 feet from shore, in the morning and were trying to get back to shore as the ice softened during the day when one fell through the ice.

Greenwood Lake’s ice police rescue unit pulled the man from the water.

Another man fell through the ice trying to reach police and was pulled from the water. Hansen said the rescue operation took about 45 minutes.

The four men received medical attention at the scene, but refused to be taken to the hospital.

(Photos by Ed Bailey. Click on the photo to see more pictures.)

Last week I had the pleasure to visit our training partner Lifesaving Resources as they conducted their Ice Rescue Train The Trainer Academy at the Boston University Sargent Center for Outdoors Education about 45 miles outside of Manchester, NH. They bring together ice rescue emergency personnel from all over the United States and Canada to train them to become instructors for their agencies. Its an intensive 3 day program and the leader Gerry Dworkin runs a very tight ship.

In a few of my recent posts on ice rescue you can see some of what these students learn in real life situations. But what it doesn’t show you is the amount of training it takes to make someone an ice rescue professional. It is not a task for the faint of heart.

Once we were out to the ice on a nearby lake the guys were put through their paces. Watching them is incredibly inspiring. It is a physically taxing challenge and after leaving the classroom they went through 5 hours of training on the ice in Ice Commander immersion suits.

Throughout the day they went through so many different types of rescues from using ladders and boogie boards to more advanced tools like the Ice Rescue platform and the Fortuna Rapid Deployment Craft. Each scenario posed its own challenges and they all seemed up to the job.

Although I was only there for 1 day, it was a great experience. I have always had the deepest respect and admiration for people who do this kind of work but never get to see it up close and personal living in a warmer climate. My respect grew a little deeper witnessing it first hand.

Dave Radomski, a freelance photographer sent me some pictures he took of an ice rescue that happened just over a week ago of two dogs that had gone through the ice on Centennial Park pond in Aurora, Colorado.

These lucky pooches happened to be in the right place at the right time. The Aurora Fire Department Technical Rescue Team were called out just as they themselves were heading out to do a practice ice rescue in their Ice Commanders.

Click on the image to see a slide show.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Radomski

ABC affiliate WJRT in Michigan went along as the US Coast Guard practiced ice rescue on Station Saginaw River. The training involved the students themselves going into the icy cold water to be rescued by their classmates.

In the two videos you can see them wearing our Breathable Immersion Work Suit that you can use as a regular work suit and double as an ice rescue immersion suit as well as the US Coast Guard SAR Vest with LIFT.

This video from CNN was spotted by Colin in our shipping department. It is of a dramatic Ice Rescue of Jason Dubois of Weymouth, Mass who went through the ice of a frozen pond walking home through the dark this last Sunday morning. The fire rescue team that came to his rescue were wearing the Mustang Survival Ice Commander immersion suit.

There is another video from the NBC affiliate WHDH where they interviewed Jason after the rescue.