Less than two hours after St. Paul firefighters completed ice rescue training this month, they were called upon to put their practice into action.

A cross-country skier fell through the ice on McCarrons Lake in Roseville, and St. Paul firefighters got him to safety.

“The new firefighter who actually went in the water to effect the rescue, he said the training that day was the first time he had been in the water with the ice rescue suit doing those maneuvers,” said Tom McDonough, St. Paul deputy fire chief of training.

As St. Paul firefighters go through ice rescue training this year, they’re learning about a new way to help people. The fire department is beginning to use the ARM-LOC, a piece of equipment invented by Connie Sylvester of Duluth, Minn.

It was a tragedy that led to the idea. A family friend fell off a boat in the Bering Sea in Alaska and the water was too frigid for him to be able to hold onto a rope and get back into the boat, Sylvester said.

The ARM-LOC is a sleeve that slides on a victim’s forearm. When a cord is pulled, it inflates to tighten around the arm and help the person float. Rescuers who are on land then pull the victim to safety using a rope.

About 100 fire departments and sheriff’s offices in Minnesota have the ARM-LOC, which costs less than $400, Sylvester said. The St. Paul Fire Department will start with 12 ARM-LOCs.

All of St. Paul’s approximately 400 firefighters are going through ice rescue training at Lake Como this month. A grant is covering the costs of training and a lot of the equipment they use, according to McDonough.

St. Paul firefighters usually respond to a couple of ice rescues each winter and practicing for them is important because, if someone is in the icy water, time is of the essence, McDonough said.