HAMILTON, Ohio — The Butler County Sheriff’s Office told WCPO 9 News the cold weather is making it difficult for their first responders, especially with water rescues and recoveries.
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office assisted the Hamilton Police Department in recovering a vehicle from the Great Miami River with an unidentified body inside.
“We found it to be a very challenging and difficult scene,” said Sergeant Mike Matala with the Butler County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Services (ERS).
Matala said the river was covered in ice, making it difficult right off the bat.
“Once the scene was assessed, we found that the ice unfortunately already started growing on the river and was covering the vehicle,” said Matala.
The sheriff's department said the water was 32 degrees when they made the recovery, with a wind chill of -3 outside of the water.
Matala said these low temperatures are extremely dangerous for anyone to be out in the water.
“Water will actually chill a body and remove your own body heat approximately 30 times faster than just the air temperature,” said Matala. “So that’s the problem and the threat with cold water.”
Matala said when the water is at 32 degrees a person has roughly 15 to 40 minutes before their muscles stop working. Because of this, the department’s top priority was the safety of their crew. At the recovery, they first set up a heating tent and sent in an underwater drone to assess the scene.
But it’s not just the bitter cold that makes the emergency response team’s job more difficult. They said the ice on the river can also create challenges.
“It makes it hard to get to your area that you’re trying to work on. They had to bust through the ice to even get down to the vehicle to try and attach tow straps to the vehicle,” said Matala.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office trains for these specific scenarios.
“They train all year long especially in the winter time on the ice, very dangerous just to train. let alone, you have to be cautious with the river,” said Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones.
While how the car ended up in the river is still under investigation, Jones and Matala both recommend not going onto the ice.
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