Tips for staying safe over a scorching Fourth of July weekend

The fireworks won’t be the only thing heating up this weekend. Forecasters are warning of a dangerous stretch of high temperatures over the Fourth of July, and the combination of blistering heat, backyard grills, and crowded pools is exactly the mix that sends people to the emergency room every summer.

None of it has to. Most heat-related trouble comes down to a handful of basic habits, and the same goes for food, fire, and water. Here’s what actually matters before you head out to celebrate.

“Our communities could see record-high temperatures in the coming days, so we urge you to take precautions to keep everyone safe and healthy as we’re enjoying this weekend’s celebrations,” said Melissa Viray, acting director of the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts.

Keep the heat from catching up with you

Extreme heat is the quiet danger of the holiday. Prolonged exposure can move fast from cramps to heat exhaustion to heat stroke, which can be fatal. The fix isn’t complicated: drink water steadily through the day rather than waiting until you’re thirsty, and skip the sugary, caffeinated, and alcoholic drinks that work against you.

The hottest stretch runs from late morning to late afternoon, roughly 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., so that’s the window to slow down and find some shade. If you’ve got air conditioning, use it. If you don’t, a cooling center beats toughing it out at home. Check on older neighbors and anyone without AC, since they’re the ones most at risk, and make sure pets have shade and fresh water too.

Don’t let the potato salad turn on you

One in six Americans gets sick from contaminated food every year, and summer is prime time for it. The heat that makes a cookout great also gives bacteria a head start.

Keep cold food cold with ice packs, and don’t let anything sit out longer than two hours. When it’s above 90 degrees, that window shrinks to one. Cook meat to a safe internal temperature, thaw and marinate in the fridge rather than on the counter, and keep raw meat on the bottom shelf so its juices don’t drip onto everything else. Wash produce before cutting, wash your hands before and after handling food, and don’t reuse the same utensils between raw and cooked. Cross-contamination is the sneaky one.

Respect the grill

More grill fires happen in July than any other month, which makes sense given how many of them get lit this weekend. Keep the grill well away from the house and anything else that could catch, and never bring it indoors, not into a garage, a tent, or a camper.

Somebody should be watching it the entire time it’s running. Don’t add starter fluid once the coals are already burning, stick to the long-handled tools built for the job, and keep kids and pets clear of the whole setup. The cook runs the zone. Everyone else stays back.

Water is fun until it isn’t

Pools, rivers, lakes, and the beach are where the holiday memories get made, and also where things go wrong fastest. Drowning doesn’t look like it does in the movies. It’s quiet and quick, which is why constant, distraction-free supervision matters so much around kids. If you have a pool, keep it secured with proper barriers.

Name a water watcher whose only job is to keep eyes on the water, and rotate that role so nobody gets complacent. Put Coast Guard-approved life jackets on children and weaker swimmers, but don’t treat them as a substitute for watching. Swim in designated, lifeguarded areas, and never swim alone. If someone’s in trouble, reach out or throw them something that floats rather than jumping in after them, because a would-be rescuer can quickly become a second victim.

Get those basics right, and the only thing you’ll be nursing on the fifth is a food coma.