CrimeWatch on @eNCA Wednesday, 2 January 2019

Intervention unit booking on duty to respond to crime & medical emergencies in Gauteng, South Africa ! 

#VisionTactical @visiontactical #VTAC

Intervention unit booking on duty to respond to crime & medical emergencies in Gauteng, South Africa ! #VisionTactical @visiontactical #VTAC pic.twitter.com/5YzRVIf5bf

— Vision Tactical (@visiontactical) December 24, 2018

Depending on what you know, three things that make summer great could also prove fatal if you don’t know what to do in an emergency. An ER24 expert shares how to keep yourself – and your family – safe this summer.

Water

As Zita Mathios, an ER24 advanced life support provider based at Johannesburg North, says, many people underestimate the dangers of a backyard pool, the sea or a mountain dam. “In the peak of summer we attend to a drowning-related call at least once a week,” she explains. “These emergencies are especially common among children under the age of four and often have poor outcomes.”

Keys to preventing a drowning

• Protect your pool with a security gate, fence and impermeable cover.
• Watch children at all times (it takes less than five minutes for a child to submerge and lose consciousness)
• Enrol your child – and your childminder – for swimming lessons* as soon as possible.
• Ensure you and your childminder have completed a certified CPR course
• Exercise responsible behaviour at all times around the pool or at the beach. Drinking alcohol and playing silly games can lead to disaster if you slip or fall into the water.

In the event of a drowning

• Call ER24 on 084 124 for help
• If it is safe for you to do so, remove the person from water to a dry, hard surface
• Start CPR immediately and keep going until help arrives

Wildlife

Snakes and other reptiles are more active in warm weather as they attempt to regulate their body heat. In addition, blooming summer flowers attract a wide array of insects. As Mathios explains, stings and bites are usually harmless and result in local pain or swelling. However, some cases can be fatal. “Anaphylaxis is an extreme reaction to a simple sting/bite,” she says. This results in widespread swelling, hives, airway obstruction, distributive shock and potentially death. We get these call-outs often, especially at parks and outdoor events.”

Are bee stings more of a threat than snake bites during summer?

Keys to preventing snake bites and insect stings:

• When faced with a snake in your path, do not approach it
• When hiking, always wear ankle protection
• When outside with a drink, always keep it covered
• Be vigilant when sitting on – or grabbing objects – outdoors
• Don’t provoke any hives or nests

In the event of a snake bite:

• Call ER24 on 084 124 for help
• Do not attempt to catch or handle the snake.
• If possible, take note of its features and colour (a phone photograph to show paramedics would be perfect)
• Don’t attempt to suck out the venom – it’s a Hollywood myth.
• Keep yourself (or the victim) calm and ensure you (or the victim) keep as still as possible

In the event of an insect sting or bite:

• Remove yourself (or the victim) from the vicinity of insect/s
• Call ER24 on 084 124 for help or advice
• Scrape out the sting using a credit card or similar (pulling it out releases more toxins and takes more time)
• Keep yourself (or the victim) calm, paying careful attention to the person’s skin condition

Heat

Mathios says heat exhaustion is an increase in body temp above 38℃ with symptoms of sweating, dizziness, nausea and a fast pulse. If heat exhaustion isn’t managed it can develop into heatstroke (or sunstroke) where your body temperature rises above 40℃ and your symptoms worsen.

“We often get calls for heat exhaustion, especially at fitness events,” Mathios adds. “Heat stroke doesn’t happen as often but is prevalent at shopping malls, where children or pets are locked in cars with no ventilation. The onset of heat stroke is relatively fast in this circumstance.” Mathios explains this is because children can’t regulate heat as well as adults and succumb to heat stroke much faster.

Keys to preventing heat exhaustion and heat stroke:

• Drink plenty of water
• Do not exert yourself outside in hot temperatures
• Avoid the midday sun
• Avoid excessive alcohol outside in hot temperature as this leads to dehydration
• Wear sunscreen, as sunburn contributes to a rise in body temperature
• Don’t leave children and pets in cars, even with a slightly open window

In the event of heat exhaustion:

• Remove the person from heat (place them in the shade, place their feet in a pool, place a cool cloth on their forehead, or move them to an air-conditioned area)
• Remove excess clothing
• Ensure they drink plenty of water or a sports rehydration drink
• Monitor for at least 30 minutes*

If they don’t improve:

• Call ER24 on 084 124 for help
• Keep encouraging them to drink water
• Do not submerge them in cold water as this can trigger an adverse reaction. Instead, sponge their forehead, chest and underarms with cool water until help arrives

ER24 can be contacted for any medical emergency on 084 124.

Johannesburg – Relief efforts were under way on Friday in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township after a fire swept through about  500 shacks the previous afternoon, razing scores to the ground and leaving hundreds of people without shelter, food and clothes.

Aid group Gift of the Givers said its teams were on site in the area. It said it had moved a mother who had given birth a day earlier, and another with four children who lost everything in the fire, to its logistics centre in Bramley. 

“Exact details as to the cause, loss of lives, number of homes destroyed, numbers of people displaced, extent of material loss is not quantifiable currently,” the aid group said.

“Our teams are registering the rest of the victims and transporting them to a nearby hall where we are providing food, bottled water, blankets and mattresses. During the course of today further appropriate interventions will be effected.”

Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokeswoman Nana Radebe said there were no fatalities or injuries as a direct result of the fire at the Greenville informal settlement on Vincent Tshbalala Road, formerly London Road.

“It is alleged two people were fighting when the fire started but police are yet to investigate and confirm the issue,” she told African News Agency.

Emergency services were still compiling a list of families displaced by the fire, which Radabe said had been completely put out.

City of Johannesburg member of the mayoral council for public safety Michael Sun said the EMS had dispatched three fire engines to the scene to extinguish the blaze on Thursday but battled to find a fire hydrant in the area.

The only nearby fire hydrant could not be fully utilised because of low water pressure and fire engines ultimately had to replenish the water tank every 20 minutes, making several trips back and forth.

“It is most unfortunate that building shacks on top of the fire hydrants is common practice in the area. The remaining available fire hydrants are often vandalised,” Sun said in a statement.

“EMS is thankful for the additional water tankers which was provided by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in assisting the firefighting efforts.”

He said emergency shelters were being arranged by the Disaster Management Unit, and also acknowledged the efforts of other organisations such as Gift of the Givers, Zaka International Rescue Unit, as well as retailer Pick n Pay which had provided food for affected residents, the Al-Imdaad Foundation which had assisted with rehabilitation resources for fire fighters and car rental firm Pace which had provided a truck to move household goods.

“The City together with its relief partners will continue to provide food, blankets, hygiene packs and other materials in order to assist the victims of this devastating fire,” said Sun.

The Johannesburg EMS said via its Twitter account temporary shelter had been activated at Eastbank community hall.

Private security firm Vision Tactical said its team would remain on site to assist with assessments of the damage and provide some relief to victims.

African News Agency/ANA