76-year-old man falls through ice

A 76-year-old man is lucky to be alive after plunging into icy water on Sunday afternoon.

Mansfield Fire Department Deputy Chief William Jordan said the man was attempting to ice skate with his wife on Eagleville Lake when he fell into the water.

Eagleville Lake is actually part of the Willimantic River.

The ice was less than an inch thick at the time, said Mansfield Fire Department Deputy Chief William Jordan.

At approximately 3:50 p.m., Jordan and others from the Mansfield Fire Department and South Coventry Fire Department responded to the call.

Jordan said the entire rescue took 14 minutes from the time the 911 call was placed by the man’s wife to when the man was pulled from the water.

The man - who officials declined to name - had been in the water approximately two minutes before 911 rescuers were called, said Jordan.

“Two rescuers in cold water suits went out,” said Jordan. And an “ice sled” - a raft-like device utilized by rescuers in ice emergencies - was used.

The man’s wife was unhurt, but rescuers quickly removed her from the ice to avoid a potential second rescue.

The man began to suffer the early stages of hypothermia at the scene, said Jordan. He was transported to Windham Community Memorial Hospital and then later transported to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford via Life Star, said Jordan.

As of Monday morning, the man was in stable condition, talking and coherent, he said.

Due to the quick response, the man was saved from serious injury or death, said Jordan. “The longer he stayed in there, the hypothermia starts to shut down the body,” said he said.

Jordan said the man’s decision for a late January skate was a “bad judgment call” and that people need to be aware of ice thickness before stepping onto frozen water.

Jordan said the ice was thin Sunday because recent weather temperatures - which had been in the upper 40s - and heavy downpours had led to the ice becoming thin and unsafe. “These are things that need to be taken into consideration,” he said.

And because it is part of the Willimantic River, the Eagleville Lake never truly freezes because water beneath the top ice surface is still moving with the current.

Posted Feb. 2, 2010

Editor’s note: for some good information about staying safe on the ice, see “How to Survive,” posted in Mansfield Today on Jan. 24, 2010.  http://mansfield.htnp.com/2010/01/24/how-to-survive/