Remember, remember, the 5th of November!
Bonfires, sparklers and fireworks are a great part of our heritage and should be enjoyed and marvelled at by all ages, but some are more vulnerable at these events than others. Young children’s ears are more delicate than adult’s ears and should be protected at firework events when loud bangs are expected. At large events it is easy for children to get separated from their parents, so some encouragement may need to be employed to get the discarded reigns out of the cupboard for younger members of the family, or a wrist band attached with ‘if found please call (mobile number)’. Please do not write the child’s name on the wristband. Older children can also be given a pre-agreed landmark to head for should they get lost.
Handy things to take with you would be; a bottle of drinking water each (which can be used on burns before other help arrives), basic first aid supplies such as plasters and sterile wipes, a mobile phone set to vibrate if it cannot be heard over the crowd and fireworks and a torch. All public firework events must have adequate first aid provision provided, so check out where that is before it gets too dark!
Sparklers can quickly injure young children as well as any adult standing a bit too close! Children should always wear gloves when holding a sparkler and a bucket of water should be at hand to put all used sparklers straight into and another for the quick immersion of burnt hands if necessary. Do not remove any clothing that has stuck to a burn, just cool with copious amounts of running cool water for at least ten minutes. The area must then be covered with a clean, dry, non-fluffy dressing, or a strip of cling film. All burns caused by fireworks must be seen at a hospital to ensure there has been no deeper damage done. Please remember hot drinks can burn a child, both from drinking, or from spilt drinks when hands above them are jostled in crowds. Burns to the mouth or throat can be very serious, so seek medical advice urgently and give the casualty frequent sips of cold water. Never use any creams or butter on burns.
Please remember a firework display is no place for the family dog!
Peak Skills regularly run first aid courses for companies and the general public. Please check our web site for course details at http://www.peakskills.co.uk or call us on 077949 224264.
If you are organising your own home based or larger event, useful information can be found on the UK Fireworks Safety site – http://www.fireworksafety.co.uk or the British Pyrotechnists Association at http://www.pyro.org.uk
Peak Skills regularly offer first aid courses for parents, nannies, businesses and any other group or organisation. Information on all our courses can be found on our web site – http://www.peakskills.co.uk