Seven men who were stranded on the ice of Little Sturgeon Bay near Big Rock Place and Claflin Road, in the Town of Gardner, were rescued Sunday morning. Three units, six firefighters and a boat from the Sturgeon Bay fire department were paged out at 8:01 am and they joined the Brussel-Union-Gardner fire department, U.S coast guard and department of natural resources in the rescue operation. The stranded men were all from Illinois. According to a spokesman from the Sturgeon Bay fire department, there was a language barrier that complicated matters and two of the seven men did not want to leave their gear, which included an all terrain vehicle and a trailer, behind. After some negotiation, the two remaining men agreed to leave the ice if most of their gear was brought off. A “duck” boat was used by the Brussels-Union-Gardner fire department and the Sturgeon Bay fire department used its inflatable to get the job done after several trips. The four-wheeler and trailer were left behind. There were no injuries and the Sturgeon Bay contingent was back at the station by about 10am Sunday.
