Water Safety Tips for Summer

It’s that time of year when more people will be enjoying the water to cool off during the summer.  Rabun County Assistant Fire Chief Justin Upchurch offers these water safety tips before you jump in.  “The first thing is that drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death.  Some of them are children ages 1-4.  So, there is no substitute for active supervision around water.  Whenever children or toddlers are in or around water an adult should always be within arms reach to provide active supervision.  Small children can drown in as little as one inch of water.  When there are several adults present, you can take turns.  I know everybody wants to have fun but have one person that is actively watching the children at all times.  It doesn’t take long, drowning can be a silent thing, so somebody could be in the water and under before anybody ever recognizes, so you need to be actively supervising the children.  Make sure kids only swim in areas designated for swimming.  Lifejackets are very important, especially with all the boating.  Always make sure that your children have lifejackets that are approved by the U.S. Coastguard.  Georgia law states that any child, 12 or under, must wear an approved lifejacket while under wake.  It does say that if you are in a completely enclosed cabin you don’t have to but we do not have anything on these lakes in Rabun County that is completely enclosed cabins.  It seems like every year you see pictures on Facebook and it bothers me every time, of kids out there while the boat is moving and they are not wearing their lifejackets.  All it takes is a small boat accident, hitting a rock or something and the child is out of your arms and under the water.  A large portion of boating accidents each year involve alcohol consumption by the operators and the passengers.  So, always make sure that if you are consuming alcohol that you are not operating the boat and you have a designated boat operator while that is happening.  Swimming pools can be one of the most fun things out here in the summer and they can also be one of the most dangerous.  So, make sure along with the active supervision, that your backyard pools have four-sided fencing at least four feet high and a self-closing, self-latching gate to prevent children from wandering into the pool area unsupervised.  When you are using these inflatable or portable pools, empty them after each use and place them where a child can’t get under them or get trapped by them if they pull them on top of them.  Last but not least, CPR is always at the top of the list of things to know how to do.  So, if you are not familiar with CPR, please reach out to the local authorities that teach CPR and take a CPR class to get more proficient in saving lives.”  Over the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, there were four drowning deaths in Georgia, so before you enjoy the water please practice these safety tips.