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ice rescue fundraiser hits goal
McCOOK, Neb. — McCook emergency responders are a little better equipped to handle ice rescue and other water emergencies, thanks to a local fundraising effort stemming from a recent tragedy.
Lucas Kotschwar lost his dog in January after it fell through the ice at the Barnett Park fishing ponds. The tragic event left him more-than-a-little saddened and with a desire to help others avoid a similar fate. Earlier this month he met with Fire Chief Marc Harpham and the two were happy to report the resulting fundraising effort reached its goal and raised approximately $2,700 over the past two months.
The effort was close enough to the slightly more than $3,000 purchase price for an ice rescue kit that the fire department was able to use its budgeted training equipment funds to cover the remainder, according to Chief Harpham. He said the overall purchase price was an excellent value and a savings of roughly 40 percent.
The purchased equipment includes a weighted throw bag with 75 foot floating rope that will be stored at the Street Department building adjacent to the park for quick response to the ponds. The majority of the other equipment will be incorporated into one of the fire department’s emergency vehicles, including an ice rescue pole, buoyant sled and buoyant, one-size-fits-all, ice rescue suit.
The kit includes 300 feet of tether line attached to the sled, a 120-foot return rope, and individual flotation harnesses for both emergency responders and rescue targets, as well as a host of other items.
As with any new equipment, it comes with additional training requirements for staff, which Chief Harpham said would be provided by the vendor in the near future. He thanked Kotschwar for “sparking the fundraising effort” and indicated he hoped it would prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“This will not only benefit the park but also our lakes,” said Harpham, adding there were a number of situations emergency responders faced in the past where the equipment would have been a benefit.
Chief Harpham praised Kotschwar’s drive to find, at least some, good in the tragic loss of his pet. “Lucas is the guy that deserves the credit. People are quick to point out what we need and often reluctant to take action,” he said. Kotschwar, in-turn, thanked Harpham’s direction during the early stages of the fundraising effort, saying he didn’t know where to start and just hoped to help prevent similar tragedies from occurring.