WINNIPEG -- Warning -- don't try this at home. And if it happens accidentally, keep a cool head -- while all other body parts are freezing.

It's a winter weather tip that could save your life, and came yesterday from a very wet Jim Radul of the Winnipeg Fire-Paramedic Service.

Dressed in a plastic and insulated immersion suit, the emergency service's water-ice rescue trainer showed off survival techniques in the bone-numbing Red River.

"Freezing water will suck the heat out of you 20 times faster than air at the same temperature," Radul said after emerging from one of several dips into the frigid water in -18 C air temperature and wind chill of -30.

"If a person is pretty healthy, they'd certainly feel the cold and start to go numb. But they'd have a few minutes -- five minutes, and maybe up to 15 -- before they would find themselves unable to move. If it's a person under the influence of alcohol, they wouldn't last very long in that icy water at all."

Radul worked with a half-dozen other fire-paramedics on rescue procedures for numerous scenarios, using ropes and an "ice sled" with a pontoon-like base.

The point was to demonstrate the cold reality of water-ice dangers for foolhardy pedestrians and snowmobilers who illegally sled on rivers within Winnipeg's limits.

AVOID PANIC

"The Winnipeg river systems, despite a lot of popular belief, aren't necessarily always safe. Many areas are unstable," said Sgt. Kerry Walker of the city police river patrol unit, which organized the demonstration with emergency responders and the Red Cross.

"These are trained professionals. They do have to train for all sorts of scenarios, and this is one of their specialties."

Among the main messages for winter river self-rescue is to avoid panic. And kick your legs when in the water. Stay low when pulling yourself onto ice, and crawl -- or roll -- to safety.

"If you fall through the ice, the first thing you should do is turn around and face the direction that you came. Because you know the ice is strong until that point," Radul said.

"Get yourself up onto the ice and kick your feet vigorously, as if you're swimming. Once you have most of your body on the ice, you can either get your arms out wide and crawl away and stay nice and low, or turn onto your side and roll well away from the hole you fell into."

Even with icicles hanging from his face, Radul -- who says he's never actually conducted a winter rescue from within the river -- told shivering reporters he remained warm in his protective suit.

"The water hasn't got to me. I'm not wet inside this thing. You start to get cold after an hour or so, but I'm fine."

Dale Marciski, an Environment Canada meteorologist, seemingly shuddered at the prospect of a river dip in yesterday's cold and northerly wind blowing at 32 km/h.

"There is a risk of frostbite at that point," Marciski said.

"If you're going to jump into water, you'll want to be able to get out quick. And warm up fairly quickly, too."