Health and Safety Reminders from Bensley-Bermuda VRS

The members of BBVRS believe that prevention is an important part of our job -- we'd like nothing more than to put ourselves out of business by improving citizen safety. The topics below are some of our recent safety reminders to citizens and rescue workers in our area.

Child Seat Safety Check
The National SAFE KIDS Campaign recommends that whenever possible, children ages 2 and under ride in the back seat of a vehicle. And the safest position for a safety seat, if it can be properly secured, is the center of the back seat.

1. A child should ride in a rear-facing seat until at least one year and 20 pounds, and a rear-facing safety seat should never be placed in a vehicle seat equipped with an air bag.
2. At one year and 20 pounds, a child can ride in a forward-facing seat equipped with internal harnesses.
3. When a child reaches the height and weight limit of his forward-facing seat (as prescribed by the manufacturer), he should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat, to be used in combination with an adult lap and shoulder belt.

A child is ready for an adult safety belt with no booster when:

1. the child has reached their sixth year of age (a Virginia law!),
2. he can sit against the back of the seat and bend his knees over the edge,
3. the lap belt makes good contact low over his hips,
4. the shoulder belt makes good contact across his chest and collarbone.

From ages 6-15, it is the responsibility of the driver that children in the vehicle be properly restrained.
  

Learn How To Save A Life
For a volunteer worker on an ambulance, the opportunity to save a life is a daily responsibility. Citizens, with just a few hours of training, can provide that same life-saving knowledge by taking a CPR class.

CPR, the process of providing a heartbeat to a person whose heart has stopped beating, is easily learned and vital to know. It may well save a life!

BBVRS offers monthly CPR courses to rescue workers and citizens. See our calendar to learn more about how to sign up for this important class.

Beat The Heat This Summer
Exposure to abnormal or prolonged amounts of heat and humidity without relief or adequate fluid intake can cause various types of heat-related illness. Children adjust more slowly than adults do to changes in environmental heat, and they also produce more heat with activity than adults, and sweat less. In both adults and children, sweating is one of the body's normal cooling mechanisms, and absence of sweating during a heat emergency is an ominous sign of a worsening condition. Children often do not think to rest when having fun and may not drink enough fluids when playing, exercising, or participating in sports, and emergency workers often do not notice the extent of their crisis during times of stress (e.g., the rigors of emergency work often precipitate heat emergencies.)

Those with chronic health problems, or who take certain medicines, may be more susceptible to heat-related illnesses. The overweight or those who wear heavy clothing during exertion, such as marching band or football uniforms, are also more susceptible.
There are three types of heat-related illnesses:

• heat cramps
• heat exhaustion
• heat stroke

What are heat cramps?
Heat cramps are the mildest form of heat injury and consist of painful muscle cramps and spasms that occur during or after intense exercise and sweating in high heat.

What is heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is more severe than heat cramps and results from a loss of water and salt in the body. It occurs in conditions of extreme heat and excessive sweating without adequate fluid and salt replacement. Heat exhaustion occurs when the body is unable to cool itself properly and, if left untreated, can progress to heat stroke.