As summer nears, keep safety foremost in mind
Shock and anguish con- tinue to envelop a North Side Youngstown neighborhood as funerals are planned for two children and one adult who perished Tuesday night in one of the deadliest house fires in the city’s history.
We join many in mourning the loss of three promising young lives – 24-year-old NaKema Autry and her children, 8-month-old Jimmia Moore and 2 year-old Quincy Moore. By all accounts, the victims were well-liked in their close-knit Bryson Street neighborhood near Wick Park.
We also offer gratitude and appreciation for the valiant efforts of the Youngstown Fire Department, whose members worked fearlessly and aggressively in their attempt to rescue the victims. Five of them were injured as they thrust themselves into the flames.
In a larger perspective, that fatal fire serves as an anguishing reminder of the overarching importance of home-fire prevention every day of the year. Though a cause of the fire has not yet been determined, an electrical issue has surfaced as a possibility.
Other fatal fires that merit close attention, particularly as summer nears, are those triggered by misuse or irresponsible use of outdoor propane-fueled or charcoal-fired grills. Many in the Mahoning Valley remember well that inattention to an outdoor grill caused a house fire five years ago this June in Warren that ranks as the deadliest blaze in that city’s history. A clamshell grill left without supervision ignited vinyl siding of the home, killing six people, including four children.
Safe outdoor cooking requires that grills be placed well away from the home, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches and that all embers are thoroughly extinguished before leaving the grill unattended.
Of course, the single most important and valuable life-saving tool during summer or any season remains a well-functioning smoke alarm on each and every floor of the home.
Considering that smoke always precedes a fire, a smoke alarm checked at least every six months for operating efficiency remains one of the best defenses against a major fire, injuries and loss of life.
KEEP KIDS, PETS OUT OF HOT CARS
But not all heat-related tragedies during summer months are triggered by fires. Sometimes the Earth’s natural heating can spark grievous calamities, particularly for children and pets.
Each summer, about 36 children and an untold number of pets in the United States die from heat-related causes after being left inside a locked and ventless hot car.
Fortunately for Ohioans, the state Legislature has recognized those dangers and this week gave unanimous final approval to Senate Bill 215. The bill grants immunity from prosecution from any damage caused during the forcible entry into a vehicle to remove an animal or minor.
To be sure, however, caretakers of children and pets should act responsibly to ensure conditions never exist to warrant such citizen rescues in the first place.
SAFE SUMMER CYCLING
The sunny and hot days of late spring and summer also invite other tragedies from activities designed to bring warm-weather pleasure. Prime among them is bicycling. The AAA East Central region, which includes Ohio, is reminding motorists and bicyclists alike this week – National Bicycle Safety Awareness Week – of the dangers inherent in unsafe cycling.
In 2014, 743 bicyclists were killed in the U.S. and an estimated 48,000 injured in crashes with motor vehicles. That represents an astonishing 19 percent increase since 2010.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bicycle helmets are 85 percent effective in reducing potentially fatal brain injuries. But unfortunately, only about 20 to 25 percent of all cyclists wear them.
Many of those deaths could have been prevented through more defensive driving and by ensuring that all bicyclists wore properly fitted helmets.
Any list of summer safety hazards also must include avoiding use of fireworks, following the rules of safe swimming, protecting skin from unwanted ticks, bees and the sun’s relentless rays, among others.
Practicing commonsense strategies to prevent fires, falls and other warm-weather hazards will go far toward steering clear of tragedy throughout the long, hot summer ahead.