After Gilford Fire UTV goes through ice, chief wants safer investigation methods for smoke on islands

GILFORD — After an off-road vehicle operated by two town firefighters plunged through the ice during the investigation of a reported building fire on an island, the town fire chief is wondering if there's a better way to handle such calls in the future — and if a new piece of equipment might have kept his department members on dry land.

The incident in question occurred on the morning of Jan. 18, when a person in Tuftonboro looked out across Lake Winnipesaukee and saw what they were sure was smoke from a building on Welch Island. Two Gilford firefighters launched the department UTV, a side-by-side, six-wheel off-road vehicle fitted with snow tracks, and drove around Welch in search of smoke. After finding none, they were heading back to the mainland when they drove onto a patch of ice weakened by a pressure ridge, and the machine broke through.

The two firefighters, who were wearing appropriate safety gear including personal flotation devices, leaped from the vehicle as it started to sink and were able to clamber out of the lake and onto solid ice. They then walked back to the Glendale docks, where they first launched the vehicle. Neither firefighter was injured, no fire was found on Welch Island and the town is down a valuable resource while the department pursues an insurance claim.

Fire Chief Stephen Carrier said his internal investigation of the incident found no department policies were broken or disregarded. “It does seem like it’s an unfortunate accident due to variable ice conditions.”

Yet, in reviewing the response to the call, he and his department are exploring the possibility that there might be a better way.

Firstly, there are mutual aid partners around the lake with vehicles, such as a hovercraft or an airboat, that could have inspected the island without as great a risk of sinking. When the call came in on Jan. 18, Gilford considered the ice to be stable and safe between Glendale and Welch, and therefore asked other departments to stand down.

“By the fact that they were able to get out there and most of the way back, the ice was safe in most areas, but not in that one spot,” Carrier said.

A second alternative would have been to ask Tuftonboro police or fire to respond to the caller’s vantage point to verify what they were seeing.

The third possible response would be to use a drone — something Gilford Fire doesn’t currently have — to get a closer look at the island without leaving the safety of the shore.

The town’s police department has a couple of drones but, Carrier said, “We didn’t call on that resource that day.”

Gilford Police’s drone program started last year thanks to a $15,000 donation from a local couple. Since then, the department has come to see the value of having eyes in the sky, said Lt. Adam VanSteensburg.

The drone helped police handle a high-risk situation during a report of domestic assault during which the alleged assailant was thought to be armed. Responding police officers were able to use the drone to determine where in the building he was, and get a close-up look before approaching. In another instance, the department needed to relocate a communications apparatus, and the drone was used to explore possible sites.

“One hundred percent, the drone is in my opinion one of the best newest pieces of technology in policing,” VanSteensburg said. “It’s cheap to operate, its versatility is endless.”

Two members of the department currently have FAA licensing to operate drones, and two more are preparing to join them.

VanSteensburg noted their drone has thermal imaging capability, which is useful when police are trying to locate missing people, but could also be used to locate fires.

“The ability to fly it and look for hot spots is indispensable,” said VanSteensburg. “You would have known right away.” He noted Gilford’s police and fire departments have been in contact since the Jan. 18 incident about how a drone could help in a firefighting application.

“We work really well with Gilford Fire, they know if they need something in the meantime, they can call us,” VanSteensburg said.

Carrier said there was an incident just this past weekend when he would have flown a drone, had he one in his own department. A hiker had injured an ankle near the summit of Mount Belknap and needed rescue. With their UTV out of service, Gilford asked Alton to bring theirs, which ferried rescuers from the gate at the base of the carriage road to within 0.6 miles of the hiker. Rescuers carried the injured person out to the UTV, where they were transported to the hospital.

Had he had a drone in his department, Carrier said he would have likely used it to pinpoint the hiker’s location, to make the rescue as efficient as possible.