Humboldt Fire Department got some much needed training on Saturday.

The ice water rescue training was done in order to get certified to use equipment that was recently purchased by the Humboldt Fire Department.

Mike Kwasnica is the Fire Chief for the Humboldt Fire Department.

He explains why this training is necessary.

"Over the years, we've got a lot more water in the area, and over the passed few years we've actually had to do some rescues in the water. Some ice water, some warmer water, but we've never had the proper gear for it. So we went out and we purchased the gear that we need to do the proper rescues and ice and water rescue, and today we're getting certified."

Kwasnica says this training has taken places in other fire departments across East Central Saskatchewan, just not here.

"This is the first in Humboldt. There's other departments in the area that have this training, but like I said, we haven't had the equipment before, so we just purchased the equipment. Before we get to use it we need to know what we're doing."

Kwasnica shares a helpful tip for those who might get stuck in the water.

"An important lesson we learned is the '1-10-1 rule.' That's basically if you fall through the ice, you have one minute to get your breathing under control, to not panic and stop hyperventilating. You have 10 minutes to do a self rescue, and after 10 minutes if you aren't successful in getting out of the ice, you have one hour to wait for a rescuer."

The training session ran from 10 until 3.

Hear more from Mike Kwasnica here: