Keeping You and Your Children Safe ( Published: 21/07/2022)

Water Safety Information

Hot weather creates a temptation for children to want to cool down in water. Over the weekend of 16th/17th July there were a number of incidents with young people getting into difficulty and needing rescuing from open water. You may have seen in the media reports of a 16 year old who tragically drowned at Salford Quays on Saturday.

Cold Water Shock Can Kill! Information about the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service campaign including videos of people who have lost their loved ones to drowning can be found here: Water Safety. For younger children aged 5-8 there is an online Water Safety Game which can be found here: Water Safety Story.

Hydrants, Antisocial Behaviour and the Dangers from Fire

You will also have seen in the news the devastation that can be caused by fire in hot, dry conditions. In some areas of Manchester, fire hydrants are regularly damaged by children.

This is not only dangerous but illegal and puts the local community at risk as well as firefighters. Fire hydrants are there to provide water to firefighters when they need them which can be at any time of the day or night. Fires cannot be put out without water, which places the public and firefighters in more danger as it will take longer for them to find water from another place before they can start putting a fire out.

Letting water out of a hydrant also takes it away from peoples’ homes and local businesses – in the hot weather it is important that everyone in the community can access running water to drink. Anyone who tampers with a hydrant is breaking the law.