Tips for a safe 4th of July

1. Be a safe swimmer. Water sports and fireworks are two of the biggest pastimes for Fourth of July celebrations, and these are both linked to numerous deaths and injuries each year. Never swim alone, and make sure that kids' water play is adequately supervised at all times. Many drownings occur when parents and other adults are nearby, so always have a designated chaper one for water play and don't assume that others are watching the kids. Statistics show that most young children who drown in pools have been out of sight for less than five minutes.

2. If fireworks are legal in your community and are a part of your celebration, be sure to store and use them safely. Keep the kids away from the fireworks at all times, and keep spectators at a safe distance. Attending fireworks displays organized by professionals is always safer than trying to put on your own show. 

3. Use alcohol responsibly. Alcohol and fireworks can be a hazardous and dangerous combination. Also, have a designated driver to bring partygoers home from the festivities. Remember also that alcohol and swimming can be as dangerous as drinking and driving.

4. Lakes, waterways, and seas will be crowded with boats. Review safe boating practices, and don't drink and drive your boat. Alcohol consumption while operating boats or other motorized water vessels is illegal, and you can be arrested for a BWI (boating under the influence!). Be sure that you have an adequate number of life preservers on hand for extra guests. Become familiar with the boating laws in your area.

5. Cover food and beverages outdoors to discourage bees and wasps from attending your party. If someone is allergic to insect stings, you should have an emergency anaphylaxis kit on hand. Wearing shoes, long sleeves, and long pants outdoors and avoiding fragranced body products, bright colors, and sugary drinks can also help prevent bee stings.

6. Apply sunscreen both before and during an outdoor party. Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause both premature aging and skin cancer in the long term, and a painful burn the next day. Even those with darker skin should use a sunscreen with a minimum sun protection factor (SPF) of 15, according to recommendations from the American Academy of Dermatology.

7. Check prescription medications you are taking to assure you will not have a sun-sensitizing drug reaction to the medication.

8. If you'll be hiking or camping in an area where ticks are abundant, wear long-sleeved, light-colored shirts and long pants tucked into socks or boots to protect yourself from tick-borne diseases. For your skin, you can use a tick repellent with no more than 30% DEET according to the manufacturer's instructions. Products containing DEET should not be used on children less than 2 months of age and should not be applied to the hands or face of young children. Check yourself (and your pets) for ticks at the end of the day.

9. Spend adequate time indoors or in the shade and drink plenty of fluids to avoid heat illness in extremely hot climates. The risk of heat illness is increased when participating in strenuous activity or sports, and those with chronic medical conditions and the elderly are also at an increased risk of heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. Alcohol consumption can also promote dehydration and increase the risk.

10. Keep children away from campfires and grills. Gas leaks, blocked tubes, and overfilled propane tanks can be a cause of grill fires and explosions.

11. Don't leave the picnic spread out all day. Allowing food to sit in outdoor temperatures can invite foodborne illness. The U.S. FDA suggests never leaving food out for more than one hour when the temperature is above 90 F and not more than two hours at other times. Foods that need to be kept cold should be placed in a cooler with plenty of ice or freezing packs and held at a maximum temperature of 40 F. While mayonnaise and other egg dishes are often associated with food poisoning, any food can potentially become contaminated. Adequate hand washing and food preparation can also help prevent food poisoning.

Camping Health and Safety Tips

Camping is a fun way to get family and friends together to enjoy the outdoors. Follow these tips and use the packing checklist to help ensure your camping trip is safe and healthy.

Camping TipsGet vaccinated.

• Vaccines Help Protect Travelers of All Ages

Prepare healthy and safe food.

• Pack foods in tight, waterproof bags or containers. Keep them in an insulated cooler.

• Wash hands and surfaces often. Use hand sanitizer if water is not available.

• Separate raw foods from cooked foods.

• Cook foods to proper temperatures (for instance, ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees).

• Chill foods promptly.

• Planning Meals at Home and On the Go

• Food Safety - Prevention and Education

Include safe physical activities.

• Physical Activity for Everyone

Protect against carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Prevention Guidelines

Avoid wild animals, and protect family pets.

• Diseases from Wildlife

• Healthy Pets, Healthy People

• Questions and Answers about Rabies, Bats, and Summer Camps

Fight the bug bite.

• West Nile Virus

• Stop Ticks

• Camping Days Coloring Page 

Prevent temperature-related illness.

• Water and Nutrition

• Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather

• Extreme Cold Guide

Protect yourself from the sun.

• Protect Yourself from the Sun

• Protecting Children from the Sun

Avoid water-related illness and injury.

• Steps of Healthy Swimming

• Drowning Happens Quickly

• Unintentional Drowning

• Stay Safe While Boating

• Oceans, Lakes & Rivers

Be prepared.

• Camping, Hiking, Travel

• Gather Emergency Supplies

• Prepare for Unpredictable Spring Weather

• Your Survival Guide to Safe and Healthy Travel

• Travel Advisories: Outdoor Safety (USDA Forest Service)

Vaccinations can help protect against certain diseases and conditions while camping. Check with your doctor or nurse to see if you've had all of the recommended vaccines. He or she may recommend tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), meningitis, and/or hepatitis A, depending on your medical history, destination, and other factors.

Bring healthy food along on your camping trip. Follow these steps to keep your food safe:

Camping is a great way to get physical activity. Do things such as walking, hiking, biking, or swimming to keep you active during your camping trip. Be sure to bring protective gear, such as helmets, sturdy shoes, and life jackets. Avoid poisonous plants, like poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. Know your limits, and take steps to avoid injury during activities. Never hike or swim alone. Watch kids closely. Adults should get at least 2½ hours a week and kids should get at least 1 hour a day of physical activity.

Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless and can cause illness or death in people and pets. Never use fuel-burning equipment such as gas stoves, heaters, lanterns, and charcoal grills inside a tent, camper, or other enclosed shelter. It can cause dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to build up.

As alternative heat sources to fuel-burning appliances inside an enclosed shelter, campers should bring adequate bedding and clothing and should consume extra calories and fluids during the outing to prevent hypothermia (a dangerous loss of body warmth that can cause death).

Some wild animals carry diseases that are dangerous to people, including rabies, hantavirus,Giardia infection, and more. Avoid touching, feeding, and getting near wild animals. Enjoy watching them from a safe distance in their natural surroundings. Keep foods stored in sealed containers and out of the reach of animals. Make sure your family pets are vaccinated and always keep a close eye on their whereabouts. Check for ticks, and remove them promptly. Make sure pets have plenty of water, food, and shelter.

Mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects can cause certain diseases. For example, mosquitoes can cause West Nile Virus, and ticks can cause Lyme disease. To help fight the bite, apply insect repellent containing DEET to exposed skin. Repellents containing 20% or more DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) can protect up to several hours. Apply the insect repellent permethrin to clothes to help keep ticks from attaching to them. Be sure to follow directions on the package. Check for ticks daily, and remove them promptly. Wear long sleeves, pants, and other light-colored clothing to help prevent and spot ticks more easily.

To help prevent hypothermia during cool nights, bring adequate bedding and clothing to stay warm. Use a plastic ground cloth under your tent to help keep you dry. To help prevent heat-related illness during hot days, drink plenty of alcohol-free and sugar-free fluids. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink. Wear layers of light-weight, light-colored, and loose-fitting clothing. Rest often in shady areas. Protect yourself from too much sun.

Protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation is important all year round. UV rays from the sun can reach you on cloudy and hazy days, as well as bright and sunny days. Use a broad-spectrum (against UVA and UVB rays) sunscreen and lipscreen with at least SPF 15. Seek shade, especially during midday hours, when the sun’s rays are strongest. Cover up with clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses.

Camping often includes playing in and around the water. To help protect yourself and your fellow campers from illness, don’t swim if you have diarrhea, and don’t swallow the water you swim in. Take a shower before and after swimming. Never swim alone. If you plan to ride in a boat, canoe, or other water vehicle, be sure to wear a life jacket. Avoid alcohol.

Always prepare for the unexpected. Before you leave, check the weather report, learn about security at your camp location, and tell family and friends your plans. Know what to do when toilets are not available. Be sure to bring along a supply kit that includes a first-aid kit, compass or GPS, map, flashlight, blankets, batteries, food, water, clothes, and medications. Know who to contact at the camp to report issues that may come up. When you return home, check for ticks, skin rashes or sunburn, dehydration, and other problems.

Tornado Safety

Tornadoes are violent by nature. They are capable of completely destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground. Tornado intensities are classified on the Fujita Scale with ratings between F0 (weakest) to F5 (strongest). Although severe tornadoes are more common in the Plains States, tornadoes have been reported in every state.

Know the Difference

Tornado Watch - Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, and check supplies and your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives!

Tornado Warning - A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Go immediately under ground to a basement, storm cellar or an interior room (closet, hallway or bathroom).

How to Prepare for a Tornado

• During any storm, listen to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed about tornado watches and warnings.
• Know your community's warning system. Communities have different ways of warning residents about tornados, with many having sirens intended for outdoor warning purposes.
• Pick a safe room in your home where household members and pets may gather during a tornado. This should be a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows.
• Practice periodic tornado drills so that everyone knows what to do if a tornado is approaching.
• Consider having your safe room reinforced. Plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection can be found on the FEMA web site.
• Prepare for high winds by removing diseased and damaged limbs from trees.
• Move or secure lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants or anything else that can be picked up by the wind and become a projectile.
• Watch for tornado danger signs:
 ̶   Dark, often greenish clouds – a phenomenon caused by hail
̶    Wall cloud – an isolated lowering of the base of a thunderstorm
 ̶   Cloud of debris
 ̶   Large hail
 ̶   Funnel cloud – a visible rotating extension of the cloud base
 ̶   Roaring noise

What to Do During a Tornado



• The safest place to be is an underground shelter, basement or safe room.
• If no underground shelter or safe room is available, a small, windowless interior room or hallway on the lowest level of a sturdy building is the safest alternative.
̶    Mobile homes are not safe during tornadoes or other severe winds.
 ̶   Do not seek shelter in a hallway or bathroom of a mobile home.
• If you have access to a sturdy shelter or a vehicle, abandon your mobile home immediately.
• Go to the nearest sturdy building or shelter immediately, using your seat belt if driving.
• Do not wait until you see the tornado.


If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter in a basement, shelter or sturdy building. If you cannot quickly walk to a shelter:



• Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter.
• If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park. Now you have the following options as a last resort:
̶    Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows, covering with your hands and a       blanket if possible.
 ̶   If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, exit your car and lie in that area, covering       your head with your hands.
• Your choice should be driven by your specific circumstances.
What to Do After a Tornado






• Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions.
• If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
• Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage.
• Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
• Stay out of damaged buildings.
• Use battery-powered flashlights when examining buildings – do NOT use candles.
• If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly and call the gas company or fire department.
• Take pictures of damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls.
• Keep all of your animals under your direct control.
• Clean up spilled medications, bleaches, gasoline or other flammable liquids that could become a fire hazard.
• Check for injuries. If you are trained, provide first aid to persons in need until emergency responders arrive.


As you rebuild:
• Strengthen existing garage doors to improve the wind resistance, particularly double-wide garage doors.
• If your home has been significantly damaged and will require rebuilding parts or all of it, consult with your contractor about having a tornado safe room built during the process. A tornado safe room can save lives. Plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection can be found on the FEMA web site.
Ask a professional to:
• Look at common connections in wood frame buildings and add anchors, clips and straps that will provide more strength to your home.
• Reinforce masonry walls that provide structural support to your home.
• Secure your chimney. Masonry chimneys that extend more than six feet above the roof or have a width of 40 inches or more should have continuous vertical reinforcing steel placed in the corners to provide greater resistance to wind loads.
• Permanently connect your manufactured home to its foundation to decrease the potential for damage from high winds.


The Red Cross encourages those in tornado-prone areas to use the Tornado Safety Checklist, which provides information on what you can do before, during and after a tornado strikes.


Let Your Family Know You're Safe
If your community has experienced a disaster, register on the American Red Cross Safe and Well web site to let your family and friends know you are safe. You may also call 1-866-GET-INFO to register yourself and your family.

Hurricane Preparation

Hurricanes are strong storms that can be life-threatening as well as cause serious property-threatening hazards such as flooding, storm surge, high winds and tornadoes.

Preparation is the best protection against the dangers of a hurricane. Know the difference between the threat levels and plan accordingly.

Know the Difference

Hurricane Watch

Hurricane conditions are a threat within 48 hours. Review your hurricane plans. Get ready to act if a warning is issued, and stay informed.

Hurricane Warning

Hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours. Complete your storm preparations and leave the area if directed to do so by authorities.

Prepare

• Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio for critical information from the National Weather Service (NWS).
• Check your disaster supplies. Replace or restock as needed.
• Bring in anything that can be picked up by the wind (bicycles, lawn furniture).
• Close your windows, doors and hurricane shutters. If you do not have hurricane shutters, close and board up all windows and doors with plywood.
• Turn your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting. Keep them closed as much as possible so that food will last longer if the power goes out.
• Turn off propane tank.
• Unplug small appliances.
• Fill your car’s gas tank.
• Create a hurricane evacuation plan with members of your household. Planning and practicing your evacuation plan minimizes confusion and fear during the event.
• Find out about your community’s hurricane response plan. Plan routes to local shelters, register family members with special medical needs and make plans for your pets to be cared for.
• Obey evacuation orders. Avoid flooded roads and washed out bridges.

Standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding. It’s important to have protection from the floods associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact the U.S. For more information on flood insurance, please visit the National Flood Insurance Program Web site at www.FloodSmart.gov.

Respond During - Recommended Hurricane Supplies

• Water—at least a 3-day supply; one gallon per person per day
• Food—at least a 3-day supply of non-perishable, easy-to-prepare food
• Flashlight
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
• Extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Medications (7-day supply) and medical items (hearing aids with extra batteries, glasses, contact lenses, syringes, etc.)
• Multi-purpose tool
• Sanitation and personal hygiene items
• Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
• Cell phone with chargers
• Family and emergency contact information
• Extra cash
• Emergency blanket
• Map(s) of the area
• Baby supplies (bottles, formula, baby food, diapers)
• Pet supplies (collar, leash, ID, food, carrier, bowl)
• Tools/supplies for securing your home
• Extra set of car keys and house keys
• Extra clothing, hat and sturdy shoes
• Rain gear
• Insect repellent and sunscreen
• Camera for photos of damage

Recover After

• Continue listening to a NOAA Weather Radio or the local news for the latest updates.
• Stay alert for extended rainfall and subsequent flooding even after the hurricane or tropical storm has ended.
• If you evacuated, return home only when officials say it is safe.
• Drive only if necessary and avoid flooded roads and washed out bridges.
• Keep away from loose or dangling power lines and report them immediately to the power company.
• Stay out of any building that has water around it.
• Inspect your home for damage. Take pictures of damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance purposes.
• Use flashlights in the dark. Do NOT use candles.
• Avoid drinking or preparing food with tap water until you are sure it’s not contaminated.
• Check refrigerated food for spoilage. If in doubt, throw it out.
• Wear protective clothing and be cautious when cleaning up to avoid injury.
• Watch animals closely and keep them under your direct control.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls.

As you rebuild - 

• Secure double entry doors at the top and the bottom.
• Strengthen existing garage doors to improve the wind resistance, particularly double- wide garage doors.
• Protect windows with permanent storm shutters or one-half inch marine plywood that is pre-cut to fit your doors and windows.
• Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts to prevent flooding and unnecessary pressure on the awnings.
• Select trees that are not as subject to uprooting to replace damaged ones. A gardening or landscaping professional can give you excellent advice.
• Identify a place to store lawn furniture, toys, gardening tools and trash cans that is away from stairs and exits to prevent them from being moved by high winds and becoming missiles.

Ask a professional to:

• Ensure roof sheathing is properly installed.
• Ensure end gables are securely fastened to the rest of the roof.
• Fasten the roof to the walls with hurricane straps.
• Elevate your home if it is near the coast and subject to flooding from storm surge.

Let Your Family Know You're Safe

If your community has experienced a disaster, register on the American Red Cross Safe and Well web site to let your family and friends know about your welfare. You may also call 1-866-GET-INFO to register yourself and your family.