VIDEO: On Sunday, the Denver Fire Department went out to Rocky Mountain Lake to mimic practices and procedures of ice rescues.
Because Denver sees its fair share of rescues every year, the department makes sure its crews are equipped in handling those scenarios by re-running trainings. These annual ice rescue trainings allow the teams to build on what they already know.
"The water today is really cold, we're protected in this suit, we really don't feel the effects of it," said Marc Jonez, a DFD technique training the crews. "This is about safety, and ultimately we're talking about the patient's safety today. We look at this as a medical call for us. We try to put ourselves is the mindset of those victims that are in the water. The hypothermic events set in really fast."