Heat Safety Awarness Day

National Heat Awareness Day is observed each year on the last Friday in May. Resulting in numerous fatalities each year, heat is one of the leading weather-related killers in the United States. Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department advises on the following important heat-related topics/prevention:

Hot Weather

During a typical year in the US, heat waves kill more people than all other natural disasters combined. But heat-related illness usually progresses in stages, so if you are aware of the signs and symptoms of each stage, you should be able to prevent the development of a life-threatening situation.

The first stage is heat cramps, which are painful muscle spasms usually in the abdominal area, the legs or specific muscle groups being used during activity. The body overheats and the loss of water and salt from heavy sweating causes the cramps. To continue reading, click here.

Sunburns

The immediate effects of harmful sun rays – sunburn, rashes, cell and tissue damage – are bad enough. But medical experts believe that too much exposure to the sun in childhood or adolescence is a major cause of skin cancer and premature skin aging later in life. Health experts also believe that UVA may weaken the immune system. To continue reading, click here.

Photo courtesy: National Weather Service

Miami-Dade Alerts

Miami-Dade County also provides Miami-Dade Alerts, a service that enables Miami-Dade residents to receive emergency texts and/or emails about public safety issues such as: weather warnings like tornado, tropical storm or hurricane warnings; recommended public protective actions; or other emergency information once they register. Standard message and data rates may apply as defined by your wireless service plan.