Fire Dept. offers tips
to avoid drownings
Star-Bulletin staff
In the wake of recent drownings, the Honolulu Fire Department warns no one is immune from drowning and offers advice:
Always swim with a buddy and never swim alone.
Know your swimming limits and stay within them. Do not try to keep up with stronger-skilled swimmers or encourage others to keep up with you.
Swim in supervised areas only.
Watch out for the "Dangerous Too's": Too Tired, Too Cold, Too Far from Safety, Too Much Sun, Too Much Strenuous Activity.
Do not mix alcohol and swimming. Alcohol impairs your judgment, balance and coordination, affects your swimming and diving skills and reduces your body's ability to stay warm.
Know local weather conditions and prepare for sudden storms; it is wise to stop swimming or boating as soon as you see or hear a storm.
Know how to prevent, recognize and respond to emergencies. Remember the three C's, Check-Call-Care: Check the scene to ensure it's safe and check a victim; call 911; and care for a victim until help arrives.
Teach children to swim at an early age.
Never leave a child unsupervised in or near any body of water, even for a second.
Never leave toys, wagons and bicycles around a pool.
Put a fence around your pool and a lock on the gate so kids cannot get in. Use a self-locking gate.
Take a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and learn what to do in case of an emergency.
