Weeks of cold temperatures have now formed ice on New Jersey’s waterways.

Gold Lifesaving Medal recipient and Barnegat Light firefighter Bob Selfridge trains himself and others on how to survive a plunge through the ice if one is alone.

“No ice is ever safe. They even say that out in the West. Regardless of how thick it is - you think it is - there’s going to be upwellings and thin spots,” says Selfridge.

He says there are two main ways to rescue yourself from the ice.

“One would be just breaking the ice in the direction of safety. The other would be to use your arms to get up on the shelf, pull yourself up and roll in the direction of safety,” Selfridge says.

With trained professionals keeping watch, Selfridge heads out onto the frozen Barnegat Bay, falls through, and first tries the lifting method. As the ice shelf breaks away, he then makes his way to shore, breaking the ice ahead of him.

“If you do find yourself in the water, you do have about one minute to control your breathing and you have about 10 minutes of purposeful movement,” says Selfridge.

The experts say if you are going on the ice for whatever reason, get yourself a pair of ice picks. They don’t cost a lot of money, and they’ll give you extra support. You can stab them into the ice shelf if you fall through. It will just give you extra leverage to pull yourself out of the water.

“That 10 minutes is going to be your self-rescue time. After that, your arms and legs are not going to work,” Selfridge says.

If Selfridge’s situation was real-life, Harvey Cedars Police Chief Robert Burnaford would be one of those responding. His advice is not to put your life and others at risk.

“You’re going to have dozens of emergency responders come out to try and put their lives on the line to help you. Bottom line? Stay off the ice,” Burnaford says.

Selfridge offers a variety of water and ice rescue training for other first responders and the public. More information can be found HERE.