Cold water immersion (CWI) coverage tends to focus on large urban departments with big budgets and dedicated medical directors. In July 2026, Northwest Allen County Fire Protection District in Huntertown, Indiana, showed the same protocol works for a much smaller department, equipping crews with a rapid cooling container that uses ice and water to lower a patient's internal temperature before transport, according to WPTA-TV.
Why a rural department made this a priority
Training Captain Mitch Maisonneuve described the standard workflow once the tool is deployed: starting IV fluids, taking a full set of vitals, and contacting the receiving hospital immediately, all while cooling continues. EMS Chief Bryan Peterson said he brought the training back to the department after learning at a conference that exertional heat stroke (EHS) patients who receive cold water immersion have shown a 100% survival rate in some published series, a statistic consistent with the Korey Stringer Institute's data on more than 401 cases. For a department without a large budget, that kind of evidence is what justifies the equipment purchase.
The logistics workaround, and its limits
Notably, the department has an arrangement with local vendors to obtain ice en route to a call, paying afterward. That solves an immediate supply problem, but it also illustrates a structural weakness of bag-and-ice methods: the crew is dependent on ice availability at the moment it matters most, rather than carrying a self-contained cooling capability on the truck.
What the evidence says small departments should prioritize
The ACSM 2023 Expert Consensus Statement is explicit that the "cool first, transport second" principle applies regardless of department size or call volume, it's a function of physiology, not resources. What differs between a large urban service and a rural volunteer or combination department is how consistently the equipment can be maintained, staged, and deployed without relying on a same-day ice run.
Where Kollder fits
Kollder One™ is priced and built for exactly this operating environment: €539 HT for a stainless steel tub that one firefighter deploys in under 2 minutes, with no ice-vendor dependency and no assembly beyond what's already packed on the rig. At 11.1 kg packed, it fits departments running lean apparatus loadouts, and its full 360° patient access supports the same IV, vitals, and hospital-notification workflow Northwest Allen County crews already train on, just without the supply-chain risk of a last-minute ice order. Departments comparing options can review specifications at kollder.com/#contact.
Pour aller plus loin / Further Reading
- Cold Water Immersion in Fire Departments: Operational Barriers
- Medical Service Validation of Cooling Equipment for Fire Departments
- Cooling Solutions for Exertional Heat Stroke: A Field Comparison
- Demander un devis Kollder / Request a Kollder quote
Sources: WPTA-TV (21Alive), "This will save somebody's life: Northwest Allen County first responders now equipped with rapid cooling bag to treat heat stroke"; ACSM Expert Consensus Statement 2023; Korey Stringer Institute, University of Connecticut.
Kollder is the emergency cooling tub that deploys in under 2 minutes, anywhere.
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