What could have been a scary situation in the Town of Gardner ended up being just good practice for local agencies.  In the early afternoon on Friday, the Door County Dispatch Center received a phone call about a person they believed fell through the ice near Sugar Creek County Park in the Town of Gardner. According to the Door County Scanner 2.0 Facebook page, multiple fire departments, the Door County Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay responded to the scene with the possibility of the first ice rescue of the season. Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Chief Curt Vandertie confirmed the response but said they found the man walking on the ice not in danger. Vandertie took the event in stride, adding that it was good to run through the procedure with all of the agencies responding. Earlier this month, Coast Guardsman T.J. Barnes expressed his concern for anxious ice anglers and guides heading out onto the ice for the first time this season.

Barnes encourages people to dress for the elements, have a personal floatation device handy, and tell others where and when they will be on and off the ice.