Firefighter/Paramedic Phil d’Entremont (l.) and Firefighter/EMT Fil Santos dressed in ice rescue suits attempted to help pull the Jeep out before they called a towing company for assistance.
COURTESY: Erin Cullinane, Sterling Fire Department
By Danielle Ray
Sterling Fire Department dispatch received a call on Feb. 11 that a Jeep had broken through the ice on Lake Waushacum, its front end partially submerged. Sterling Car 1, the Fire Chief’s vehicle, Rescue 1, Forestry 1, Ambulance 2, and Sterling Police Department responded to the scene around 12:23 p.m.
“Sterling firefighters dressed in ice rescue suits walked onto the ice to assess the vehicle and make sure there were no fluids from the vehicle leaking into the water,” said firefighter/paramedic Erin Cullinane, who was part of the response. “Ricky’s Towing and Recovery came to the scene to safely remove the vehicle from the ice.”
The driver of the vehicle was safe.
“Luckily, the owner heard the ice beginning to crack so he was able to self-extricate from the vehicle before it fell into the water,” Cullinane said. “There were no injuries to the owner or Sterling firefighters. The owner was thankful for our response, and everyone on scene was thankful that there were no injuries, and that everyone was safe, warm, and dry.”
The Jeep belonged to Claudia Parda Bauman and her husband, who was plowing the ice as he had done many times during previous winters to create a space for ice skating for his family.
“We were plowing to create an ice rink,” Parda Bauman said. “We plowed previously and had no issues. The kids ride horses and skate and ski in winter; because of COVID we did it again this year to give the kids something to do.”
Parda Bauman said the water was three feet deep where the Jeep went in.
“[My husband’s] front wheels sank in,” she said. “When we tried to pull it out ourselves the plow dropped and sank the nose and hit bottom. He got wet to his knees, opened the driver’s side door no problem and stepped right out onto the ice. No one was ever in any danger.”
Parda Bauman said her daughter told her afterwards that there was a crack in the ice beneath the snow that they were not aware was there.
“That’s where the wheels broke through,” Parda Bauman said. “It was easy to see that at that spot the ice was only a few inches thick, confirming that yes, ice depth isn’t consistent across the lake. He could see that the ice was thicker all around the area after the fact so he must have driven over a spring. Our very kind neighbor came over with a backhoe and a friend arrived with chains. They were working on pulling the Jeep out when the police arrived and notified him that the fire department had been called by someone on the lake.”
Parda Bauman said the fire department crew took charge when they arrived and continued to use the backhoe at first before calling the plow company to help.
“My husband felt like they would have gotten the car out if they had more time,” she said. “It seemed like the fire department were concerned for people’s safety and cleared the ice, however people walked across the lake to come watch the Jeep getting pulled out. It was determined early on no ecological damage had occurred, and no one consulted us as to whether or not we could afford to pay for the crane. They just called in the crane and that was that. It was a costly day.”
Parda Bauman said the Jeep is not salvageable. “We appreciated the efforts of the local fire volunteers and police,” she said. “Thank you to the town police and fire responders for helping. We were told that little to no ecological harm has occurred; for which we couldn’t be more grateful.”