The Belleville Fire Dept. along with Quinte Conservation would like to remind the public to be very careful when playing or traveling on ice, in and around the local watersheds, and to try and avoid open water at all cost, especially moving water in our river systems. River ice can be very unpredictable because moving water erodes ice from the underside, causing the ice thickness to vary from one point to another.
The mild weather we have experienced over the holidays in conjunction with some snow cover has caused the local waterways to freeze at a slower and more unpredictable rate. If you do happen to fall through the ice the first thing you need to do is not panic. If you cannot get yourself out of the water in the first 5 minutes, try to get as much of your body onto the ice as possible. A person floating in the water will lose body heat 25 times faster than the same person laying on the ice in the same air temperature. The faster you can call 911, the better chance you will have for survival. Every second counts.
The city will continue to monitor the ice and an update will be posted when the conditions become safe.
