With frigid water temperatures, a rescue must be speedy.

Volunteer fire department officials may have found the ultimate piece of rescue equipment for reaching drowning victims in nearly any situation.

"It's called Rescue Alive. It was designed for thin ice rescue. It allows the rescuer to approach a victim while staying on top of the ice or water," said Vince Lang, fire chief with the Rankin Inlet fire department.

Rescue Alive is a very simple device. It is two foam-filled pontoons - made of a hard plastic, the same plastic truck bed liners are made of - joined together with railings on both sides.

A rescuer using the equipment can walk, run or paddle between the two pontoons bearing their weight on two side railings. The light-weight paddle is also fitted with stainless steel tips at the end to drag the Rescue Alive across the ice.

Once the rescuer gets to the victim, the victim is attached to a harness and pulled out of the water. The rescuer and victim are then pulled to shore by a rope that runs from the device to the shoreline.

"Rescue Alive weighs only 34 kilograms and holds 270 kilograms with 2 square metres of surface area which distributes the weight of the victim and rescuer," Lang said.

The piece of equipment doesn't create waves like a boat. When paddling towards a victim it will not break the ice the victim may be holding on to, perhaps causing him to go underneath the water.

"I hope we never have to use it," said Lang. "But, if the need arises, we can make a rescue safely."

The fire department decided to purchase the piece of equipment after they found an article on Rescue Alive in a firefighter's magazine.

The rescue equipment, three floater suits and three life jackets came to about $7,000.

Firefighters have been out on Williamson Lake in Rankin Inlet training with Rescue Alive.

Lang said they want to be prepared for when the next rescue call comes.