WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - As temperatures drop, Wichita Fire Department crews are urging people to stay off frozen bodies of water, warning that ice in Kansas is rarely safe.

At Station 4, the city's unit specially equipped for winter water rescues, preparations are underway for the season.

"When people ask about, like, what's a safe practice for going out on the ice in Kansas, there is no safe practice," Captain John Jarvis with Station 4 Rescue 1 said.

Because of rapidly changing weather, ice that appears frozen one day can weaken the next. Jarvis says the safest thing to do is simple: "Stay off the ice at all costs."

If someone does fall through, he says the first step is to remain calm.

"So the first thing that you have a tendency to do is panic and start flailing around," Jarvis sai

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