Ice on rivers and lakes may be getting thicker but the Lifesaving Society wants to make sure people stay safe when heading onto the ice.

Operations Manager Kevin Tordiffe says a good rule of thumb is to make sure there is four inches of solid ice for walking, five inches for snowmobiles and twelve to fifteen for larger vehicles. Tordiffe notes if you are with someone who falls through, first call 911 and then evaluating what you can do to provide a safe rescue.

"Some of the important steps would be to, certainly, don’t venture out on the ice in the same fashion," explains Tordiffe, "try to find a reaching assist, a line or a rope that you could throw to them to keep yourself at a safe distance. If you have to venture onto the ice at all, stay down on your belly and distribute your weight as much as you can."

Tordiffe says when coaching some who has fallen through, step one is to calm them down, then to turn, so their back is facing the direction they came from, get their hands on the ice, kick until their body is in a horizontal position and roll away until they are a safe distance from the point where they broke through. 

He adds a good rule of thumb is to make sure there is four inches of solid ice for walking, five inches for snowmobiles and twelve to fifteen for larger vehicles.

Tordiffe urges people not to head out onto the ice alone. "It always makes good sense to have a buddy or a partner with you. It’s that old adage of swimming with a buddy, well, let’s adventure with a buddy as well. It makes things a lot safer for everybody involved and certainly prepare for the conditions that you’re planning to go out into."