Safety At The Sea

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside! Of course, what could be better than being at the water’s edge on a beautiful or hot day? Being safe by the water’s edge of course! As June the 8th marks World’s Oceans Day, how can we enjoy our own natural beauty spots by the sea or indeed any body of water whilst still keeping safe?

The allure of the ocean has often been acknowledged, whether that is in popular fiction or on the big screen and certainly, when our special slice of Scotland basks in the summer heat and the water glistens encouragingly, it can be all too easy to disregard good sense and to plunge into the often, icy waters.

In recognition of this, Scottish Fire and Rescue has partnered with Water Safety Scotland and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to produce a special safety system designed to keep locals and visitors secure by the sea by reducing accidental drowning deaths by analysing the circumstances around past water-related fatalities This new review is a champion in its field, trailblazing a future for our own community as well as a national precedent to prevent future accidents.

As delightful as our coastline is, the cold hard fact remains that each year, despite stringent safety measures, fatalities and life-threatening accidents do occur each year, especially in the summer months. With this in mind, the special review created by these three organisations, known as the Drowning and Incident Review, outlines safe practices that help to ensure no dayout by the seaside ends in tragedy. On average, nearly one hundred deaths occur each year in Scotland alone owing to waterbased accidents.

The aim is that with the help of this review which seeks to analyse accidents that have occurred and ultimately prevent tragedies from happening in the future. The aim is that in future years incidents will be cut by 50%.

Carlene McAvoy, Leisure Safety Manager of RoSPA and founder and secretary of Water Safety Scotland said, “DIR has been specifically created for Scotland and is one of the first of its type in the world. It will be used as an important tool in Scotland to enable learning from incidents and mitigate the risk of future incidents. This supports the overarching aim of Scotland’s Drowning Prevention Strategy, to reduce accidental drownings by 50 per cent by 2026.”

James Sullivan, Station Commander at SFRS and chair of Water Safety Scotland, added,

“DIR provides a clear and consistent format for partners to review water related incidents and gain an understanding of contributory factors. This enhanced knowledge will enable a focused approach to be taken on preventative measures both locally and nationally throughout Scotland”.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, also known as RoSPA is a not-forprofit organisation which has a strong heritage dating back more than one hundred years to support the local and national community to implement safety in domestic settings as well as on the roads, at work and also whilst having fun. The ultimate aim of RoSPA and indeed, this review, is to enable everyone to live their lives to the fullest - safely.

Naturally, our coastlines are tantalising, especially for children enjoying the summer weather and the school holidays. As the world celebrates World’s Oceans Day, now is a golden opportunity to highlight the importance of safety by the sea.

Certainly, we all love to be by the seaside and, with a healthy amount of respect for its wild beauty, we will continue to enjoy our days out, complete with buckets and spades, a healthy dose of sunscreen and maybe even an ice cream as well!