Safer Response
Emergency : What To Do When a Drowning Happens
About a 2 minute read
This week we learn Safer Responses to aquatic emergencies.
Safer Response includes:
- Calling 911
- Safety equipment or tools ready near the water at all times
- Adult and child CPR training from a qualified instructor
- Emergency Action Plans prepared, planned and practiced
In every drowning accident, seconds count. They literally make the difference not only between life and death, but also between recovery and permanent injury. For every fatal drowning, the International Life Saving Federation as well as Lifeguards Without Borders estimates there are 6 hospitalizations. The worst of these non-fatal cases are lifelong vegetative states.
Emergency Action Plans should encompass the entire family and include:
- 911 call practice
- Address and location knowledge
- Explanation of the emergency
- Finding adults who can help
- Practicing immediate action
Kids will complete and color an Emergency Action Plan with you. This additional practice reinforces what kids can do in a drowning emergency, but in also in any emergency situation.
Helping others means keeping yourself safe. Flight attendants teach us to put on our oxygen masks first. This is a cornerstone principle of every safety and rescue discipline. Anyone who helps another must keep themselves safe first, or risk a double emergency.
Nicholas and Anthony Aurilia are twins who drowned in their Melville NY home just last July. Did Nicholas go in and try to help Anthony? We will never know.
Drowning doesn’t care. Drowning doesn’t discriminate. Our exercise during National Water Safety Month help move the needle and help your family protect itself.