For Immediate Release

15 May 2005

Chester Vol. Fire Department

Summer Safety

Chester, West Virginia May 15, 2005-The Chester Volunteer fire Department

offers the following tips to help make your summer safe and enjoyable:

Bike, skateboard, roller-blade, and pedestrian safety-

· Wear a comfortable, properly - fitted helmet if riding a bike, operating a scooter, skateboarding,

or roller blading. The helmet should sit level on top of the head-not rocking in any direction-and always fasten the strap.

· Be sure that safety gear (elbow, wrist, and kneepads) fits properly and does not interfere with the

user’s movement, vision, or hearing.

· Ride scooters, bikes, and skates only on smooth pavement and only during

daylight hours.

· Learn proper hand signals and use them when you turn or stop.

· Come to a complete stop before entering driveways, paths, or intersections.

Look left, right, and left again for cars, pedestrians, or bikes heading your

way.

· Teach children safety by example.

· If out at night for any reason, wear reflective clothing, carry a flashlight.

Barbecue Safety-

· Keep gas and charcoal grills away from combustibles, including the outside

of your house, balcony, or garage. Never use a grill on your porch.

· Never store propane cylinders, gas cans, or other flammable fuels in your house, or on your porch.

· Enforce a “kid free zone” 36” from the grill. Also keep your pets from underfoot.

· Keep the grill clean. Check connections before each use. Never add charcoal fluid to hot coals.

· Don’t use any other type of fluid to get the fire going.

Water Safety-

· Only swim in approved areas.

· Always supervise children near the water at all times, and make sure children learn to swim.

· Check the depth of water before diving in.

· Always wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved PFD (Personal Floatation Device) before

boating, jet-skiing, tubing, or water- skiing. An adult should always supervise children

wearing air-filled swimming aids. They are not approved PFD’s.

· Home swimming pools should have four-sided isolation fencing at least five foot high,

equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates that are kept locked.

· Get out of water immediately if you hear thunder or see lightning.

· Steer clear of water activities if you’ve been consuming alcohol.

· Children’s portable wading pools should be drained if an adult is not

constantly supervising it.

Fireworks-

· Stay safe by always leaving fireworks to the professionals.

· Stay at least 500 feet away from firework displays.

· Leave any area where amateurs are using fireworks.

· “Sparklers” are not a safe alternative to children. These devices can heat up

to 1,200 degrees F.

Camping Safety Tips-

· Always use a flame -retardant tent and set up camp away from the campfire.

· Use only flashlights or battery-powered lanterns inside tents or other enclosed area.

· Clear all vegetation and dig a pit surrounded by rocks before building your campfire.

Keep children under constant supervision around campfires.

· Always put your campfire out before going to sleep. Use water and dirt to put your fire out.

· Make sure before you leave camp to completely extinguish any campfire.

Lawn Mower / Yard work safety:

· Before mowing, do a walk through of the area to be mowed and check for rocks, sticks,

obstructions or items that may pose a hazard.

· Wear comfortable, well-fitting shoes when mowing. A shoe with a good traction helps

prevent slips, trips, and falls.

· Anytime you are working under the mower near the blades, always disconnect the spark

plug first, NEVER try to clear a jam with the engine running or the spark plug intact.

· Keep children and pets far from the mower. A rock or any object “thrown” from the mower

can travel 100 feet or more with great force. Don’t allow children to “ride along” on a riding mower.

· Whether using a push mower or a riding mower, don’t try to travel over uneven or rough terrain,

or steep hillsides. A handheld weed trimmer may seem to take more time, but may prevent a tragedy.

· Proper eye protection is a must when doing any yard work that may produce flying debris.

· Don’t try to by-pass or defeat safety features built into any

power equipment.

· Never operate any equipment if under the influence of alcohol or if you’re tired.

· Never refuel power equipment while it’s hot. Let the equipment cool first.

· Don’t store gas mowers or fuel operated equipment on the porch or in the basement.

· As with any outdoor summer activity, take frequent breaks, use sunscreen, wear light colored

clothing, save strenuous activities for early in the day or late afternoon. Pay attention

to your body’s signs of overexertion (profuse sweating, difficulty breathing, just feeling “hot and tired”.)

Drink plenty of water before, during, and after activities.

*** *** *** *** ***

The preceding safety tips are a general guideline to help you and your family stay safe during

the summer. Most accidents can be avoided with common sense and diligence.

Chester firefighters, along with emergency workers across the country routinely respond to tragedies

that could easily be avoided if proper safety steps were implemented and followed. Whether it’s the house

destroyed by a gas grill that exploded on a porch (see attached photos dated July 30^th ,2002), or the two

year old who wandered outside and was found drowned in a portable baby wading pool , tragedies happen

in our small community as well as in the big cities. We have never gotten called to an emergency and been told

“I knew this would happen…we planned on this emergency.”

Keep your family safe…we don’t want to meet by accident!