How Another Person Is Pulled Out

DLRG's protocol is built around one fact: a rescuer going out onto the ice is itself extremely dangerous. So the sequence doesn't start with how to pull someone out, but with how not to become the second person in the water.

First, From Shore

The first attempt is made from dry land, and only if that's impossible is going out onto the ice considered. Alongside this, the service is called: that call doesn't wait for the outcome of other attempts. Each country has its own number.

Weight Gets Spread Out

If someone does go out onto the ice, the rescuer's weight is spread over the surface as evenly as possible — by lying down. Ice that has already broken under one person is at its limit, and a second person walking to the break on foot breaks it further.

No One Approaches the Break Without Tools

This is a separate point in the protocol. If nothing is available, they lie down on their stomach and hand the person a branch or clothing. That's exactly why a board or a large branch is kept among the things by the hole: there's never a moment to go looking for one when it's needed.

Several Rescuers Form a Chain

Lying down, one after another, braced against each other. A chain spreads the weight along its length instead of concentrating it in one point, while still leaving the last link braced on solid ice.

What Isn't Done

No running, and no pulling with a jerk. And the call to the service isn't put off for "let's pull them out first": the condition can worsen sharply after a person has been pulled out, and the next card is exactly about that.

Why This Is About a Partner, Not a Passerby

Because there may be no passerby on the ice. Everything described above only makes sense as long as someone else is nearby — which is exactly why going out in twos appears in this section not as advice, but as a condition.