West Fargo Fire Department Warns of Thin Ice

After police were alerted to children playing on thin ice yesterday, the West Fargo Fire Department is warning locals to remember ice safety.

For ice to be safe to walk on, fire officials say it needs to be at least four inches thick.

For snowmobiles they say five inches and for cars, it should be ten inches thick with trucks at 16 inches.

Firefighters say they are worried people may be overconfident about how thick the ice is, especially children.

“It just takes a split second for a child to say ‘oh well, maybe I’ll go out on the ice and see what’s going on or go play on it’,” said West Fargo Fire Chief Daniel Fuller. “You know, it’s something that’s new…you’ve never seen it before and for something bad to happen.”

The West Fargo Fire Department says parents should remind their children to get adult permission before venturing out on the ice.