The deep freeze that has gripped the Hudson Valley hasn't made our lives easier, but Golden's Bridge firefighters know an opportunity when they see it. Even before two feet of snow was dumped on the area by Winter Storm Fern, firefighters of the Golden’s Bridge Fire Department took advantage of sub-freezing temperatures by participating in training drills with new battery-operated ice augers. With record-breaking cold this winter, the arrival of the new equipment and the training activity under real-life conditions could not have been more timely, according to Golden’s Bridge Fire Department officials. The high-tech equipment is specifically designed to support water drafting operations when the surfaces of static water sources, like local ponds and lakes, are frozen solid. The GBFD’s move to battery-operated ice augers represents a significant boost to water drafting operations, according to Golden’s Bridge Fire Chief Albert Melillo, who explained that in the past, firefighters relied on combustion-style (gas-powered) augers, which are heavier and sometimes harder to start in extreme cold. The new battery-operated augers enable Golden’s Bridge firefighters to quickly and efficiently drill an eight-inch hole through thick ice to create immediate access to the water beneath the frozen surface, Fire Chief Melillo explained. He said that after the hole is drilled, firefighters deploy a hard-suction drafting hose into the water source. Unlike standard soft hose, rigid hard-suction hose is designed specifically for drafting operations, allowing a fire engine to serve as a “fire hydrant” with unlimited water supply. The fire engine feeds responding mutual aid tankers that rotate from the water source to the fire scene. “In areas of Northern Westchester where fire hydrants are minimal, all local fire departments rely on static water sources. The Golden’s Bridge Fire District is fortunate to have an abundance of lakes and ponds that also happen to be strategically located for emergency response (such as the pond at the intersection of Increase Miller and Todd Roads, where the ice auger training was held). We draft water from these natural sources to keep our apparatus at full capacity for fire suppression response to structure, brush, and vehicle fire emergencies. During major fire events, a fire engine is dispatched to a local water source where it sets up a draft,” explained Fire Chief Melillo. “Freezing surfaces at static water sources present another set of challenges. That’s why ice augers are so vital. These new high-tech tools make Golden’s Bridge firefighters more skilled and well-equipped to access water under all weather conditions wherever static sources are available,” he continued. “These new battery-operated units are much lighter in weight, easier to deploy, and faster to operate, which is critical in harsh winter conditions and when every minute counts in water drafting operations during a fire emergency,” added the Golden’s Bridge Fire Chief. The significance of water drafting capabilities recently came to light when water main breaks in lower Westchester County urban areas left hydrant-dependent fire departments without their primary water supply. These departments requested mutual aid from Northern Westchester-based fire departments equipped with tankers, according to the Golden’s Bridge Fire Chief. Within the next two weeks, Golden’s Bridge firefighters will participate in the Department’s annual ice rescue training drills on a pond in the Golden’s Bridge community. They will train in various ice rescue techniques, simulating emergency response to fishermen who fell through the ice.