With many ponds and lakes around Connecticut freezing over during this cold weather, The ZAC Foundation, a year-round water safety group based in Greenwich, is reminding people to stay safe if they do want to strap on the skates, or attempt some ice fishing.

According to Karen Cohn, the co-founder of the ZAC Foundation, ice needs to be at least four inches thick to safely walk on.

Since water freezes unevenly, she recommends going out with a measuring stick and knife or auger ahead of time and checking the thickness every 150 feet.

She also says it is a good idea to bring a personal flotation device and ice picks in case someone does fall in.

If that happens, she says people should resist their natural instict to jump in also, and instead, try to help.

After calling 911, she says the best thing to do is lie down next to the break, as opposed to standing, and try to give the person something to hold on to.

With the water being as cold as it is now, hypotermia can happen quickly, and people can lose their breaths almost immediately, so she says anyone who falls in the water should first, try to slow their breathing, then kick their feet quickly and try to roll out on to the ice, instead of pulling out.

Once out of the water, she says try to get out of the cold, wet clothes as fast as possible, since they will continue to bring body temperature down, and get bundled up into something dry.

Then, even if everything seems OK, she says still get checked out by a doctor, just to make sure there are no signs of hypothermia or anything else.