Don’t Let a Celebration End in the Emergency Room – or Worse
2016 Summer Safety Tips to Keep in Mind as Summer Comes to an End
Biohazard cleanup is our life. It’s what we do. Because of what we see routinely in our jobs, we are big proponents of safety. That’s because we know that much of the grizzly horror we see every day could be avoided if people were more aware of hidden dangers and unnecessary risks and put safety first. We therefore strive to educate the communities we serve in basic awareness and safe tips to keep mind as summer comes to an end. Ways to avoid mistakes and their devastating fallout, things we often overlook on festive occasions. These 2016 summer safety tips are intended to maintain awareness.
While many see it as the last chance to get out, relax, and spend time having fun with family and friends before end of summer and beginning of school, it also one of the biggest weekends for accidents – and a good time to remind our communities of how to avoid them.
Whether you’re traveling, hanging out by the pool, or hitting one of this country’s beautiful beaches, we can’t over-stress the importance of putting holiday safety first. Failing to do so can end your holiday – and maybe your life or the life of a loved one –early. Here are some simple yet critical tips so many of us completely overlook when we’re caught up in an atmosphere of fun and festivity:
2016 Summer Safety – Safe Driving and Boating
- Keep an emergency kit, which should include jumper cables, flashlights with fresh batteries, light sticks, sweaters, sneakers or other good walking shoes, tools to change a flat, duct tape, and reflective triangles in your car.
- Keep a medical-emergency kit in your car and boat. Some of its contents should include band aids, rubbing alcohol, gauze pads and rolls, gloves, scissors, calamine lotion, and an anti-inflammatory drug like aspirin or Ibuprofen.
- Tell a few trusted friends or relatives where you are going, the route you plan to take, and your arrival and departure times from each venue. For law enforcement and first responders, having this information can make the difference between a positive and a tragic outcome.
- Keep all cell phones fully charged. Bring portable chargers with you and keep them fully charged. Check in with friends and relatives often, especially if your plans change.
- Never travel on less than half a tank of gas. No matter how inconvenient, stop and fill up before you cross that important line.
- Have a GPS with you if your cell phones to not have a GPS app.
- In the event of a serious accident in which no one can speak coherently to first responders, they will look for a contact person by scanning the cell phones of victims. Add at least one person, who has your itinerary, to the contact list of every cell phone as “ICE,” which first responders understand means “in case of emergency.”
- Make sure children traveling with you carry some form of identification.
- Use seat belts and insist that your passengers use them.
- Be on high alert to the increased incidences of driving and boating under the influence during the holidays. Try to avoid driving and boating late at night.
- Make sure everyone, no matter how well they swim, has a well-fitted, Coast Guard-approved life jacket in a boat.
- If you rent a boat, make sure you learn and follow all the safety precautions and rules of the open water. Most rental companies will present basic boating safety and rules during a short orientation before you take the boat out.
- Never allow anyone who may drive the car or boat to drink.
2016 Summer Safety – Safe Swimming
- Before hitting the beach or pool, keep close track of the weather and water conditions.
- Be aware of rip tides and undertows, and stay out of the water if conditions are dangerous. The strongest and best swimmers can die if they get caught in these powerful currents.
- Never let children near the water if they are not accompanied by an adult.
- No matter how much they grumble and complain, make children wear Coast Guard-approved jackets.
- Flotation devices are toys. They are designed for light pool activity when an adult is right next to the child. Beyond that, they do not protect against drowning. They should NEVER be used in oceans and lakes or in place of a life jacket.
- Be aware of any presence of wildlife near the water. Alligators, crocodiles, jelly fish, and sharks can be deadly.
- Always know where the lifeguards are. Ask them about unsafe swimming areas, warning flags, and any other potential hazards before you enter the water.
- Never go into the water alone. Something as simple as a cramp can cause you to drown.
- Never leave children or the elderly unattended at the beach or the pool. They can get knocked down by powerful waves or pulled under by a strong current. They can also slip on poolside surfaces.
2016 Summer Safety – Safe Celebrating at Home
Some of the worst accidents we have seen happened right in the victim’s backyard.
- According to the National Fire Protection Association, about 8,900 home fires are caused by grills and about 16,000 people end up the emergency rooms because of injuries caused by grills each year. Failure to clean the grill is the leading factor in grill fires with combustible objects too close to the grill coming in second. Make sure the grill is clean and that nothing flammable is anywhere near it.
- Gas grills cause more home fires than charcoal grills. Make sure your gas grill has no leaks or other damage before firing it up, and make sure it is clean. Small debris and insects can obstruct the flow of gas or make the gas flow where it shouldn’t.
- Never leave a grill unattended, especially if there are children nearby. An adult should be watching and manning a hot grill 100% of the time.
- Never move a lit grill. We remediated an accident scene last summer in which a homeowner attempted to move a lit charcoal grill to a covered area because he was afraid it would start raining. As he tilted the grill onto its back wheels and started to roll it, the grill got caught on a deck board and fell over. It brought a citronella torch crashing down, which quickly ignited the deck and burned it to the ground. Our client was taken to the hospital with 3rd degree burns.
- Be aware of how much your guests are drinking. Don’t assign intoxicated guests grill or fireworks duties. Overwhelmingly, we have observed that the heavier the drinking, the more frequent and more horrific the accident.
- Use paper or plastic plates, glasses, and utensils outdoors. Broken glass can quickly relocate your party to the emergency room.
- Put colorful stickers on glass doors and on their screens. We have cleaned up more than one terrible accident site where someone walked or ran right through a glass door that appeared to the victim to be open. One of our clients died after he charged through a closed class door toward a deck pool.
- NEVER let children play with or ignite fireworks. Even sparklers are deadly. They burn at a temperature of roughly 2,000 degrees, which will melt metal. Imagine what they do to flesh.
- Keep a garden hose or one or two buckets of water and a fire extinguisher close by in case of a grill or firework accident.
As a leading company in accident-scene cleanup, we’ve seen too many completely avoidable accidents and their tragic results. As people begin celebrating the close of summer, we want to help you protect yourself and your loved ones while you celebrate.
We are Advanced Bio Treatment, and we care about the communities we serve. Should you need our services, please call us at 800-295-1684. We give free quotes, provide emergency services, work with your insurance company, and respond 24/7/365.
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