5 Summer Safety Risks Homeowners Often Overlook When Hosting

(Feature Impact) Summer is the perfect season for gathering outdoors with friends and family, but if you’re a homeowner planning to host barbecues, pool parties or holiday celebrations this year, it’s important to consider the potential safety and liability risks that may be affecting your own backyard. A little advance planning can help you ensure that your guests enjoy safe, healthy experiences at your home and leave with only happy memories.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, thousands of injuries each year are linked to fireworks, grills and swimming pools. While most summer gatherings end without incident, Mercury Insurance is encouraging homeowners to remember that smart preparation can help you avoid unfortunate accidents and costly damage.

“A few simple safety checks can help homeowners create a safer environment for everyone while protecting the property they’ve worked hard to build,” said Larry Anderson, underwriting operations director at Mercury Insurance.

Set your summer up for success by paying special attention to these five often-overlooked seasonal safety risks.

Guest Injuries and Liability Risks

Since summer gatherings naturally increase foot traffic around a property, it should be safe to walk around. Uneven walkways, loose decking, poor lighting and pet-related incidents can all lead to injuries that homeowners may not anticipate.

Before hosting events, audit your property to repair trip hazards and ensure walkways and outdoor gathering areas are well-lit. If you have pets that may become stressed around large groups, secure them before guests arrive. Since unforeseen events can still occur despite your best efforts, review your liability coverage to understand available protections.

Unsupervised Pool Areas

Swimming pools can provide endless summer fun, but they also present one of the most serious safety risks around the home. Drowning remains a leading cause of accidental death for young children, making active supervision essential whenever children are near water.

If your backyard includes a pool, ensure that gates and barriers are functioning properly, keep rescue equipment nearby and consider pool alarms and self-closing gates for additional protection. Most importantly, never leave children unattended around water.

Backyard Grill Fires

Grilling is a summer tradition, but outdoor cooking equipment can quickly become a fire hazard if used improperly. Placing your grill too close to flammable objects, letting grease build up and leaving the grill unattended can all increase the risk of property damage.

Start by making sure your grill is set up at least 10 feet away from homes, fences and overhangs before you fire it up. Clean grease trays regularly, never leave a grill unattended while cooking and keep a fire extinguisher accessible during outdoor cooking.

Fireworks Too Close to Homes and Landscaping

Fireworks-related fires increase significantly during summer, particularly in dry climates where even one stray spark can ignite vegetation or nearby structures.

Advertisement

The safest option, when possible, is to attend professional displays rather than hosting your own. However, if you’re planning on lighting up your skies this summer, follow all local laws and restrictions regarding fireworks and keep your launch site well away from homes, vehicles and dry landscaping. Have a water source readily available when using legal consumer fireworks.

Outdoor Electrical Hazards

Extension cords, decorative lighting, outdoor speakers and fans often receive extra use during summer gatherings. Damaged cords or overloaded outlets can create shock and fire hazards. As you set up your summer entertainment systems, check your equipment to be sure it’s rated for outdoor use. Keep electrical connections away from pools and water features, avoid overloading electrical outlets and take a few extra minutes before each gathering to inspect outdoor cords for wear and damage.

“Most homeowners focus on making their gatherings enjoyable, but safety should be part of the preparation process,” Anderson said. “Taking a few minutes to identify potential hazards before guests arrive can help prevent accidents and allow everyone to focus on enjoying the season.”

For more home safety resources and insurance information, visit MercuryInsurance.com/Resources.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock

SOURCE:
Mercury Insurance

📰 Enjoying STM Daily News? Join the conversation!

💬 Leave a comment, share your thoughts, and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest stories, updates, and “News You Can Use This Moment!” delivered to your inbox.

Stay connected with STM Daily News!

Please leave this field empty

Start Your Morning Informed

Get the STM Morning Brief delivered to your inbox every weekday with breaking news, transportation updates, technology, science, and trending stories.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Please check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Advertisement

(Family Features) Shaping the future of public health into an equitable one means ensuring all people and communities have access to the health care and resources they need to live well. The nation requires a strong, diverse public health workforce to accomplish that goal.

That’s why AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched Public Health AmeriCorps – to support the recruitment, training and development of early career public health workers who can serve their local communities.

Bridging national service and public health, the initiative supports a diverse group of early career professionals working to address today’s public health challenges in a range of roles, including:

• Health education and training
• Community outreach and engagement
• System navigation, referrals and linkage to care
• Research, data collection, analysis and assessment

What Members are Saying
Everyone was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – including Dionne Johnson, who lost a loved one to the virus.

“I had a family member die from COVID-19, and it really touched me,” Johnson said. “That gave me the passion and lit the fire under me to actually pursue a career in public health.”

Now, Johnson is realizing her dreams of transforming public health in her community. In her work, she wants to teach people in Black and brown communities how they can learn to be healthy and advocate for themselves.

Another member, Jaiden Singh, is the son of immigrants. Singh launched a promising career in public health so he can give back to the community where he grew up.

“Being a part of the organization not only has really supplemented my education that I’m working toward in public health and policy, it has also given me the opportunity to do work that I am really passionate about in a community that I have known all my life and really do love,” Singh said. “I would highly recommend being a part of this really valuable and inspiring community.”

Action That Creates Impact
The diverse work of Public Health AmeriCorps benefits not only program members but also the communities they serve. As examples of the program at work, members have:

• Provided overdose rescue education, raised awareness about opioid use disorder and harm reduction strategies and distributed overdose rescue kits containing naloxone (an overdose-reversing nasal spray).
• Held back-to-school COVID-19 testing events, distributed early childhood health education and built community gardens in underserved communities.
• Participated in a community mental health crisis intervention system to assess, stabilize and link people in crisis to follow-up care and services.
• Supported elementary schools as part of a dental hygiene program that sends out staff and volunteers to provide free teeth cleanings to students.

Learn More and Apply
If you want to start your career and make a difference in public health, consider member benefits such as:

• Education awards to apply to higher education or student loan forgiveness
• Student loan deferment and forbearance
• Living allowance
• Hands-on experience
• Training from experts

Visit AmeriCorps.gov/PublicHealth for a list of opportunities to serve and contact your desired opportunity by phone or email to learn more and apply. You can also subscribe to the newsletter to learn more about the initiative.

SOURCE:
AmeriCorps

(Feature Impact) The busy summer season can take you almost anywhere – baseball fields, backyard cookouts, long workdays or road trips across the country. Regardless of where you are, summer is a reminder that emergencies like cardiac arrest can happen anywhere.

More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, and 90% of people will not survive, according to the American Heart Association, a nonprofit organization devoted to changing the future for a world of healthier lives for all. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen anytime, anywhere. People often hesitate to step in. In fact, nearly 2 out of 3 adults believe CPR can only be performed by medical professionals. This mistaken belief can cost lives and contributes to the low survival rate.

Ordinary people have extraordinary power. You don’t need to wear scrubs or have a medical background to save a life – you just need the courage to act.

Take the safety of those around you into your own hands this summer with this checklist.

Plan Ahead

Summer is often a time for welcome disruptions, including vacations, camps, sports and parties. Before traveling or attending events, check if your destination has a cardiac emergency response plan, which establishes specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in any setting, from schools and community organizations to workplaces and sports facilities.

Learn CPR

Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere: at home, at work, in schools, at a soccer game or on vacation. When it happens, the first chance for survival often rests with the people nearby.

Anyone can be the difference before professional help arrives. The power to save a life is in your hands. CPR is a human responsibility, not just a medical skill. When friends, family or even strangers step in during cardiac emergencies, survival rates can double or even triple.

Hands-Only CPR for adults consists of two easy steps:

• Call 9-1-1 or shout for someone else to call.
• Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that’s 100-120 beats per minute, such as “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.

Share Resources with Your Family and Community

Once you’ve learned simple, two-step Hands-Only CPR, share resources with your community to help expand the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers. Raising awareness with family, neighbors and colleagues can help people feel confident in the face of an emergency.

Families can watch short instructional videos that demonstrate the life-saving steps for adults as well as techniques for infants and children.

Travelers can also get trained in about 5 minutes with a Hands-Only CPR Kiosk, located in many airports and public spaces across the country.

To find more information about learning CPR, visit Heart.org/Nation.

Summer Safety Tips

In addition to learning CPR and sharing valuable resources with your family and community, consider these ways to keep yourself and loved ones safe throughout the summer months.

Advertisement

• Stay Hydrated: High temperatures can quickly lead to dehydration and heat-related illness. Drink water regularly throughout the day, especially during outdoor activities, and pack extra water when away from home.
• Protect Your Skin: Hats, sunglasses and lightweight clothing can protect skin from sun exposure, but it’s important to use broad-spectrum sunscreen and reapply every 2 hours.
• Swim with a Buddy: Hopping in a pool, lake or ocean is a hallmark of summer but can be dangerous without precautions. Never swim alone and ensure children are always supervised by an adult near water.
• Identify the Locations of Safety Equipment: When attending camps, heading to a sporting event or enjoying the pool or beach, identify where lifeguards, AEDs and emergency exits are located. Knowing where to find help can save valuable time when every second counts.
• Practice Grill Safety: Some of your most memorable summer moments may happen during a backyard barbecue or cookout, and it’s important to keep those gatherings safe. Use grills away from homes, decks and dry grass. Never leave them unattended while cooking, and be sure kids and pets stay at a safe distance from hot surfaces.

Saving a Life Within 1 Year of Learning CPR

On a chilly Tuesday, dawn was breaking as Matthew Lynch reached his highway exit, but traffic was backed up at a particular intersection. He waited through three cycles before finally getting close enough to see the holdup: a stalled SUV.

While most cars buzzed by, Lynch moved slowly and peered into the vehicle. He saw people inside and parked his sedan, flipped on the hazard lights and ran to the stalled SUV. As he knocked on the driver’s window, there was no response. The doors were locked. Two people – a male driver and female passenger – were unresponsive.

Lynch ran back to his own car and called 9-1-1 before managing to open the driver’s side door. He discovered the driver was not breathing normally, signaling to Lynch he’d need to start CPR – which he’d learned 10 months earlier during a training session he’d helped organize for a work-sponsored men’s group.

Knowing he had to do something, Lynch started pushing hard and fast in the center of the man’s chest. Within a minute, the man gasped for breath.

Just as Lynch leaned over to see if he could help the female passenger, first responders arrived and Lynch backed away, knowing there was nothing more he could do.

“It was just a lot to take in,” said Lynch, a member of the American Heart Association’s 2026 Nation of Lifesavers Class, a small group of volunteers, dedicated to raising awareness of CPR by sharing their own personal stories of survival or rescue. “Mostly I felt an incredible sense of gratitude that I could help someone.”

A strong admirer of the Good Samaritan parable, Lynch is always on the lookout for the opportunity to help others. He learned a lot about himself in that moment and about the importance of learning CPR, along with the confidence that comes from knowing you could be a lifesaver.

“I quickly realized the certification was way less important than the actual CPR training,” he said. “Your ability to help in any capacity is better than doing nothing. If I hadn’t done that training, I probably would not have helped.”

SOURCE:

American Heart Association

📰 Thanks for reading STM Daily News – your source for News You Can Use This Moment!

We love hearing from our readers. Share your thoughts in the comments section and join the conversation with our growing community. Your feedback helps us create the stories and features that matter most to you.

Advertisement

Don’t miss the latest news, inspiring stories, lifestyle tips, food and drink features, and exclusive updates. Subscribe to the STM Daily News newsletter and get our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

💬 Leave a comment.
📧 Subscribe to our newsletter.
📢 Share your favorite stories with friends and family.

Stay informed, stay connected, and be part of the STM Daily News community at STMDailyNews.com.