Fourth of July safety tips from the American Red Cross

AccuWeather

As we countdown the days to the Fourth of July, the day of America's independence, the Red Cross joins the AccuWeather Network to remind us to stay safe during holiday festivities.

Transcript

00:00the fourth of july it's just around the quarter and whether you're making plans for the beach pool

00:03parties fireworks and more the american red cross wants you to stay safe well joining us right now

00:10is tracy fox national spokesperson uh for the american red cross thanks so much for joining us

00:17here as we get ready for the holiday weekend and what are the biggest fireworks safety risks people

00:24tend to overlook during independence day celebrations sure the the first thing is the

00:32safest way to view fireworks is always to go to a public show where the fireworks are set up by

00:37professionals if if that's not something you're able or inclined to do the number one risk is just

00:44make sure that the fireworks are legal in your local area many states outlaw most fireworks so

00:50do some research check into that and then if you're doing fireworks at home designate one person

00:56make sure the one person lighting the fireworks has eye protection and water nearby and you want to

01:01make sure that you never try to relight a dud if something doesn't light the first time just douse

01:07it with some water move on to the next firework and then with the little kids and your pets keep them

01:13safe and sound this holiday make sure your pets are safely secured indoors away from fireworks so they

01:18don't get scared and run off and with small children instead of sparklers or something along those

01:24lines think about maybe doing glow sticks or noisemakers so they can have a safe and fun holiday

01:29i like that that's a good tip all right many families will be spending time by the water what does the

01:33american red cross recommend to stay water smart and safe this holiday sure if you're going to be near

01:40the water whether you're at the beach or pool a water park other body of water you want to make sure

01:45you're only swimming in designated areas with lifeguards on duty even with lifeguards we encourage

01:51everyone to have a water watcher that just means you've got an adult who's watching the other adults

01:57the kids everybody that's in the water to prevent any problems we also want to make sure that you're

02:05not jumping in if you do see someone who's in trouble try to find something a life ring or something

02:10else that you can throw out to that person don't immediately jump in we don't want two victims

02:15instead of one so be safe if there is an emergency and make sure you've got someone that can call 9-1-1

02:22what should beach goers know about rip currents and ocean safety and what should families discuss

02:28before heading to the shore so before you even get to the beach it's important one that you discuss with

02:35your family a designated spot for everybody to meet up it's easy to sort of lose track of where

02:40everyone is on a crowded beach the holiday weekend so make sure the family everyone in the family knows

02:45there's a designated point to meet up again you want to swim where their lifeguards and then follow

02:51any signage that's posted a lot of beaches use a flag system to designate hazards so you want to follow

02:57those instructions any signage any flags that are up to to keep yourself and your family safe and if you find

03:04yourself caught in a rip current the biggest thing is don't panic stay calm it's going to push you out

03:10but if you swim parallel to the shore so you're along the shoreline you can get out of that current and

03:15then make your way back to the shore the red cross also has a strong need for summer blood donations

03:22why is this time of year so crucial every summer we see the schedules get changed for everybody right

03:28you're taking family vacations the kids are in summer camp there's just a different pattern to life

03:34and with that comes additional travel so we often see unfortunately more more emergency situations

03:40more trauma situations and what we've already seen just a couple weeks into summer so far is an

03:46increased need for typo blood that's what's used in emergencies if there's not time to match the the

03:52patient's needs so we encourage everybody take time now while you can go to redcrossblood.org and schedule a

04:00blood donation appointment near you tracy fox national spokesperson for the american red cross thanks

04:07for joining us here on accuweather early and we hope that you have a great independence day thank you

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