In partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and Canal and River Trust, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) has created some videos that help raise awareness of the potential hazards associated with inland water and explain what to do if either you find yourself in trouble in water or see someone else in difficulty.
The four short videos, which can be viewed on the MPA’s YouTube Channel or downloaded as MP4 files, cover the following 3 subjects:
Inland water safety
Highlighting that there are more accidental drownings at inland water sites than at the coast, encouraging people to think more carefully about where it is safe to enjoy water and the potential hazards they might be exposed to at an inland water site such as a quarry lake. Helping them to think and assess the potential risks before entering the water #Respectthewater
‘Float to Live’
Helping people to understand what they should do if the suddenly find themselves in trouble in water, this could be following a fall/trip at the water’s edge, a deliberate jump into water, or when engaged in a variety of water-based activities.
The simple technique of floating on one’s back is lifesaving – ‘Float to Live’.
The challenge is to engrain this into people’s minds so that if they are in a potentially life-threatening situation in water, the thought of ‘Float to Live’ will be triggered.
Ideally, it will also encourage people to practice this technique the next time they are in a safe environment such as a swimming pool.
CALL, TELL, THROW
Ensuring that people understand what to do if they see someone in trouble in the water. Sadly, every year people attempting rescues have drowned when they have entered the water whilst trying to help a person or animal. CALL, TELL, THROW are the 3 easy steps that can increase the probability of a successful outcome.
WORLD DROWNING PREVENTION DAY AND FUTURE USE OF THESE RESOURCES
Whilst these videos have been produced to coincide with World Drowning Prevention Day on Friday 25th July, they are intended for use throughout the year, particularly during school holidays and periods of very hot weather.
MPA’s CALL TO ARMS - HOW MPA WOULD LIKE MEMBERS AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS TO HELP
As stated, the purpose of these videos is to raise awareness to the public of inland water safety.
The hope is organisations working within the industry will share one or more of the videos with their employees and encourage them to share with their friends and family via their own networks.
With the start of the school holidays in England and the forecast for more periods of unusually warm weather, this is an ideal time to inform parents and hopefully, get them to be pro-active in sharing these messages. Young men are the group most at risk of accidental drowning.
Chris Leese, Executive Chair, MPA Executive Management Committee said “The multiplier effect of this could be significant, even if only a small percentage of our employees choose to post one of these videos on their social networks. Whether used now or at some future time, these resources could help save the life of someone close to you.
As an industry, we work hard to try to ensure that we are taking the right steps to keep members of the public safe. The key to drowning prevention is raising public awareness, MPA has been collaborating with a wide range of organisations who all share the same goal, to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy water safely, whether inland or at the coast. Please share these videos.”
Ends.
About the Mineral Products Association:
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is the trade association for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, dimension stone, lime, mortar and industrial sand industries. MPA is the sectoral voice for mineral products, covering 100% of UK cement and lime production, 90% of GB aggregates production, 95% of asphalt and over 60% of ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete production. In 2021, the industry supplied £22 billion worth of materials and services to the Economy. It is also the largest supplier to the construction industry, which had annual output valued at £178 billion. Industry production represents the largest flow of materials in the UK economy and is also one of the largest manufacturing sectors.
For media enquiries, contact Robert McIlveen at: Robert.McIlveen@mineralproducts.org