Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department in Armstrong County is warning people to stay off the ice. Submitted Photo.

The Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department — which serves Freeport, Gilpin Township and​ Ford City — is urging people to stay off the ice after receiving three 911 calls about children playing on ice over the span of three days.

The department reached its residents Sunday, Jan. 26, via social media, to explain the impending danger as temperatures warm.

“It may not seem like it, but the past few days have been warmer,” the department wrote. “Those warmer conditions have been thinning the ice. As the ice thins, the risk of breaking through increases significantly.”

Last week brought three straight days of below-freezing temperatures, including lows of below zero. However, temperatures rose Sunday and Monday to a high of 38 degrees, enough to melt the ice and snow that has accumulated in the region over the past week.

“Please encourage your children to stay off the river. It is not safe,” the department wrote, referencing the Allegheny River that runs through that region. “Talking with your children is a crucial step in preventing accidents.”

The SARPD isn’t the only agency that has had to field calls for children playing on frozen rivers. The Lower Kiski Swift Water Rescue Team, a volunteer rescue team based in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, has had to field similar calls from both the Allegheny River and Buffalo Creek.

However, the team has not had to arrive at any of these events, as other agencies defused the situation each time.

“The first one was on Buffalo Creek,” said Dan Felack, marine commander of Lower Kiski. “The next one was on the Allegheny River in Freeport, and the next one was on the Allegheny River in Kittanning. There were, I believe, five kids out on the ice up in Kittanning.”

According to a chart issued by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, frozen lakes are generally safe for one person to walk at 4 inches of thickness.

“Ideal ice is not always the case. We always warn people before they go on the ice,” said Dustin Drew, park manager at Moraine State Park, which features the massive man-made Lake Arthur. “It may be 1 inch somewhere and 4 inches somewhere else.”

However, the chart issued by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission applies to still lakes, not rivers, which have even less chance of uniform ice thickness.

“That’s a still body of water. For a moving body of water, you can’t assume uniform thickness,” Drew said.

Felack says that, unlike attempting to play hockey or go ice-fishing on a frozen lake or pond, there is no safe amount of thickness to attempt to play on a frozen river, as the river is constantly moving underneath the ice.

“The problem on the river is that the water's moving underneath the ice, and if you fall through, you get dragged underneath the ice itself,” Felack said.

Felack adds that frozen rivers may also be impacted by factors such as industrial discharge that can erode the ice from underneath.

“You can't see it until you fall through,” Felack said.

The Allegheny River is partially frozen in Armstrong County during last week's cold snap. Submitted photo