Members of North Bay's fire service are on Trout Lake all week practising ice and cold water rescues.
Fire chief Jason Whiteley said his team hasn't had to rescue anyone yet this winter, but there have been a few close calls.
The training on Trout Lake is part of a new certification that firefighters will need to have. Whiteley said the week hasn't been easy.
"The test consists of a 200-metre swim and it's timed,” Whiteley said.
“Then, they have to do a 50-metre swim rescuing somebody then we finish it off with a 15-minute treading water test. We've done all kinds of different scenarios – self-rescuing, we have gotten into how the current and flows ... Because we are wearing flotation devices, the way the person floats on the water will be much different than that person who's under water."
The Ontario Fire Marshall is in charge of this week’s training.
