MIDDLETOWN – A deep winter freeze followed but a quick thaw is always cause for concern for firefighters from around the state.
In Middletown, a sunny Tuesday found about a dozen firefighters training in a pond not far from their Main Street headquarters.
“Every fire apparatus in the Middletown Fire Department is equipped for ice and water rescue,” said Assistant Chief Jay Woron.
Woron joined about a dozen firefighters on Pike’s Ravine where the ice was about three inches thick – still, they say, below the four inches the town (and many towns) required to skate or play on.
Dressed in what known are known as cold water “Mustang Suits”, firefighters took turns playing victim and rescuer out in the frigid pond.
Lt. Drew France, an 18-year veteran of the Middletown Fire Department said, “we hope we don’t have to but we will be trained and ready to go if the need arises.”