The hot days of summer have many people turning to the Red Deer River for recreation and to cool off, it is important to remember safety is paramount.
Drowning Research Prevention Centre has provided some sobering statistics. It reports 72 per cent of drowning victims are male and 29 per cent happens in rivers. Of the largest contributing factor across most ages and water activities, wearing a life jacket ranked first.
Fire Chief Bruce Wade says care needs to be taken by those navigating the water. While the Red Deer River is a relatively tame body of water, flow this year is healthy.
“Probably the most important thing is common sense, wear a PFD and let someone know where you are leaving from and when you expect to be somewhere so if you are overdue, at least someone can speak up for you,” said Wade.
He adds navigating water and drinking alcohol don’t mix, neither is being on the river after dark.
“When it is dark out it is really tough to see. We do have lights on our boat, but it is really tough to navigate the river and the rapids in the dark,” he said.
He says there were a couple of water-related calls for the department last year but so far, this year they have not had any.
“Generally when the water has been as low as it has been in the past, we can walk in and walk out,” he said.
Another issue is the weather. It can change in the blink of an eye.
“We have had a couple of instances where people have been on the river and a big storm comes up, and they are in rafts and are overdue,” he said.
One simple tip from the Lifesaving Society is to brush up on your swimming skills.
“Basic swimming ability is a requirement of any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada. Swim to Survive teaches the minimum swim skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water,” it states.