Pope County wants to remind all of our residents and visitors to have a safe and happy summer season by sharing tips from ready.gov on summer safety. For more information, visit the #SummerReady page at ready.gov, or read on:
Summer Safety Tips
Summer months are a common time to spend time outdoors or to take vacations and travel. While these activities can be a fun and refreshing break from day-to-day responsibilities, it’s important to stay safe.
Outdoor Recreation Safety
Before heading out for an outdoor adventure in a park, on lakes, rivers and the beach make sure you do some research ahead of time. This is especially important if you’re visiting an area with different weather or climate risks you may not be used to.
The National Park Service Health and Safety webpage has information about planning a fun and safe adventure and information about wildlife and outdoor hazards.
Pool and Water Safety for Children:
Being around water can be especially dangerous for young children. Children can drown in as little as 2 inches of water. Drownings are 100% preventable by following these water safety tips:
- Always watch children in or near water. Never leave them unattended, not even for short periods of time.
- Install safety devices like barriers, covers and alarms around your pool or spa.
- Learn to swim and teach children how to swim.
- Ensure all pools and spas have compliant drain covers and teach children to stay away from them.
Water Safety for Everyone:
- Swim with a friend. Even strong swimmers should make sure they are in the water with someone else who can swim.
- Know how to perform CPR on children and adults.
- At the beach or in a lake, only swim in areas with a lifeguard on duty. Follow all signs and warnings.
- Stay alert to rip currents. Check water conditions before going in by looking at the local beach forecast before you leave. Visit the National Weather Service Before You Go in the Water page to learn more about what to do if you’re caught in a rip current.
- Keep an eye on the weather forecast. If a thunderstorm approaches when you are swimming or near water, get out of the water and seek shelter in a house, large building or car with its windows closed.
- Know how deep the water is. Do not dive into the water if you don’t know how deep it is. Diving into shallow water can cause serious injury or death. Even strong swimmers should be aware when they are in deep water.
Boat owners and passenger safety:
- Wear a life jacket. The best life jacket is the one you will wear. Visit the U.S. Coast Guard life jacket web page to learn how to pick the right life jacket.
- If you are on a boat of any size, make sure you pay attention to marine forecasts. Before setting out, get the latest marine forecast and warning information from www.weather.gov/marine or a NOAA Weather Radio.
- Stay safe on the water. Visit the U.S. Coast Guard Boating safety page to learn more ways to stay safe when underway and learn federal requirements for recreational boats.
Hotel and short-term rental safety:
Whether you are staying in a hotel or a short-term rental, remember to stay fire safe.
- Choose hotels and motels that have hard-wired smoke alarms and an automatic fire sprinkler system in each guest room.
- Read the fire evacuation plan carefully.
- Find the closest fire exits from your room and count the number of doors between your room and the exits.
It’s important to know that short term rentals are not regulated like hotels or motels. Practice home safety like you do at home. Be sure:
- Everyone knows the address of the rental.
- There are working smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the rental.
- You choose an outside meeting place a safe distance from the rental.
Grilling Safety:
- Only use a grill outside and keep a 3-foot safety zone around it, away from siding, deck rains and eaves. Open your gas grill before lighting it.
- Clean your grill after each use.
- If using a charcoal grill, after cooking your food place the coals and ash in a metal can with a lid once they have cooled.