[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iM9cxQvH9c]

Members of the Leesburg/Plain Township Fire Department spent part of Sunday afternoon training for ice rescues on Lake Tippecanoe.

Members of the department donned gumby suits and took turns practicing rescue skills. The last time the department took part in an ice rescue was in February 2008 when Shannon Richcreek, then 27, of Leesburg, was snowmobiling on the lake when it broke through the ice.

According to records, Richcreek was in the water 27 minutes before she was pulled to safety.

The gumby suits used by fire departments allow firefighters to get in cold water without feeling the effects.