The tragic death of three children who fell through ice into Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull is a reminder of the importance of raising public awareness about ice safety and the responsibilities of landowners.
As operators, CEMEX needs to ensure that we have appropriate procedures in place where we have bodies of water that might freeze and where members of the public, particularly children or dog walkers, are known to visit.
On Monday afternoon, the day after incident in Solihull, Jeff Jones, Assistant Quarry Manager at CEMEX’s Forest Hill quarry, had to remove four teenagers from frozen water on a restored area. He had heard the teenagers and went over to investigate and found them on the pond on a sledge. They had damaged a warning sign and were using this to slide on the frozen pond. They were reminded about the dangers and asked to leave the site. Subsequently the local ASBO Officer and the Parish Council were informed, who carry out regular checks in the area.
A huge thanks and well done to Jeff for Stepping In quickly to escort the teenagers from site – he may have saved their lives!
We urge all Site Managers to check the following:
- You are aware of sites where water is frozen and members of public may be tempted to enter / visit.
- You have a risk assessment in place that covers this from the perspective of both public safety and safety of employees/contractors.
- If risk assessments recommend the site has throw lines or other safety devices ensure that these are in place.
- Do you have any sites where you perceive the risk to be particularly high where the use of temporary signage warning of thin ice would be appropriate?
- Do the emergency services know how to access your sites should someone be in trouble in water / ice?
- Does your signage give information about exact location and who to call in emergency – 999 ask for Fire and Rescue Service if inland water?
The MPA has been promoting generic water safety messages being issued by safety organisations and emergency services, most recently the “Don’t Drink and Drown” and “What to do if you fall through ice advice” (RLSS campaigns) and other winter water safety messages.
Please see below two links to information produced by RoSPA and RLSS (Royal Life Saving Society):
RoSPA information on ice safety for landowners – https://www.rospa.com/leisure-water-safety/water/advice/ice
The RLSS campaigns to raise public awareness – Winter Water Safety | Royal Life Saving Society UK ( RLSS UK
Please Share!
| With the recent Met Office’s yellow weather warnings, temperatures are set to drop as low as minus 15 in parts of Britain, please share the following warnings with your offline colleagues, friends and families. It could save a life!
We have also made a poster which you can find on the UK News download page: Stay Safe Near Open Water poster (1057 downloads) – please print and share on all noticeboards. |
| In an emergency, if you see a person in the water: |
- Call 999 and shout for help – nearly 40% of people who drowned last year had no intention to go into the water.
- Stay off the ice and away from the edges: help from the land to the best of your ability.
- Shout to the casualty to maintain heat and energy: Float To Live.
- Tell the person to stay still to maintain heat and energy.
- Look for rescue equipment or anything which will extend your reach, such as a rope, pole or branch.
- Reach or throw out to the casualty with it. Gently guide and move the person to the shore. Make sure you are on stable ground.
- Keep the casualty warm and make sure they go to the hospital.