Nottinghamshire mum who's son died rescuing friends from water urges more people to learn safe practices
Nicola Jenkins founded the Open Water Education Network after her son Owen died in 2017
A mum from Beeston is urging more parents to talk about water safety with their children - having lost her son to drowning in 2017.
Nicola Jenkins's son Owen died trying to rescue his friends who had got into trouble in water. She says he didn't know any better so he got in to help them, but never came back out alive.
In his legacy she founded the Open Water Education Network, to help more people learn about what to do in an emergency and how to be safe around water.
She tells us why it's so important to know the basics like floating to live:
"Children really love water and so do adults. It gets hot and the first thing you want to do is cool off so we try and find somewhere that we think is safe to swim or dip our feet but very quickly it can become hazardous and take people's lives.
"Learn how to float to live, lying on your back like a star, and go with the water flow, find a place that has lifeguards and equipment there, have the What3Words app on your phone, go with your friends and just think about what you're doing before you go in."
Nicola says Owen’s story is different to others:
"We use his story as ‘what not to do’. He didn’t know what to do when the girls got into difficulty. He thought that he was helping by going in the water to save them. Had Owen and the girls known this then Owen might be here today."
OWEN suggests memorising these 5 words:
SHOUT
Shout to the person “are you in trouble?” if they are thrashing around or unresponsive you need to react now. If they shout no, you can still call 999 and report the situation.
Do not enter the water.
CALL 999
If someone gets into difficulty call 999, ask for 'FIRE AND RESCUE' if inland or the 'COASTGUARD' if on the coastlines and beaches.
SIGNAL
From where you are you will have a good view of the situation, signal by waving your arms and shout to the person that help is on its way, reassure them that you can see them and you are looking for things to help rescue them.
Encourage them to get into the floating rescue position on their back with arms and legs outstretched in a star shape and go with the flow of the water, resist swimming to conserve their energy.
Help them keep calm by shouting reassurance to them, ask them to keep their face out of the water and control their breathing.
The water will be loud, and the person may have difficulty hearing or communicating with you but shout loud and clear instructions and reassurance.
THROW
Whilst doing all the above look around for objects to throw to the person, anything that floats is good. If there are other people with you send them to find floating objects whilst you keep the person in your view, this will help the emergency services when they arrive to find the person and get to them quickly.
DO NOT GO
Remember do not enter the water even though you may feel you need to.
You are that persons help, the emergency services eyes.
If you go in the water, you may become a casualty as well and need rescuing.
Other Water Safety Tips from OWEN
Water looks so inviting and fun especially on a warm day, you get hot and want to cool off. But Open Water has hidden dangers.
On the surface the water may be calm but underneath the currents may be strong and controlling. The water will be cold even if the outside temperature is hot, the deeper the water the colder it will be. So:
- Beware of hazards that are not visible.
- Never enter the water after consuming alcohol, recreational drugs or medication that slows down your responses or makes you drowsy.
- Get out of the water as soon as you start to feel cold.
- Only enter water with supervision and rescue cover.
- Always go with friends, if anything was to happen then they can get help.
- Use the correct safety equipment for water-based activities.
Only ever swim in designated and supervised open water.
"I will continue my son’s legacy and educate as many people in different areas about how to stay safe around open water."