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MARQUETTE -- Right now, Lake Superior’s water is 32 degrees.  And if somebody was exposed to this temperature for more than 15 minutes, hypothermia would set in.

Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Marquette Fire Department ran ice rescue drills to ensure they could work together to get a victim out of the water in a timely fashion.

"People have been using the ice pretty frequently throughout the winter, but now with warming temperatures and also with shifting weather patterns, winds are shifting frequently,” said Christopher Connolly of the U.S. Coast Guard.  “On a daily basis, ice conditions can change and leave people in bad situations pretty quickly."

The U.S. Coast Guard's number one role is to remove the body from the water.  They use a variety of rescue devices, but a rescue board is their tool of choice.

"The reason it's probably the best that we use is because we can cross open water with it, and it's also a very secure way to get the person back to shore or emergency services," Connolly said.

After the body is removed, the firemen step in to fulfill their primary duty:  transportation of the victim.

"What our role is, basically, to transition from once they're out of the water to get them into the ambulance and such and move them from one set of expert hands to another set of expert hands," said Lieutenant Jeff Green of the Marquette City Fire Department.

To avoid a rescue situation all together, here are three simple tips to remember:

1.  Always tell someone who isn't coming with you where you are going.

2.  Check the weather forecast.

3.  Keep your cell phone in a waterproof container.

Although authorities say the drills Thursday were a success, in an ideal world, they wouldn't be called to run them in a real life scenario at all.