AFCEC urges Air Force to focus on heat safety

  • Published
  • By Jess Echerri
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Heat-related illness is the leading cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States.

To reduce the risk of these illnesses to Airmen and their families, emergency managers at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center are emphasizing the Air Force "Be Ready" awareness campaign to focus on heat safety.

"We want base emergency management offices to advertise our information through their own media avenues, whether that is a Facebook page, a base newsletter or any other venue," said James Martin, education and training analyst in the emergency management division of the AFCEC Readiness Directorate. "We want to promote the practice of heat safety as it applies to military members and their families."

Martin and others involved with the "Be Ready" campaign want to educate Airmen about heat-related terms: heat wave, heat index, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. A heat wave refers to a prolonged period of excessive heat, often combined with excessive humidity, while the heat index is the number in degrees Fahrenheit that tells how hot it feels when relative humidity is added to the air temperature.

There are also three levels of heat-related illness that Airmen should be aware of, Martin said. Heat cramps and heat exhaustion are the body's reactions to water and salt loss through sweat, and are treatable with rest in a cool area and drinking water. Heat stroke is a serious reaction to heat in which the body is no longer able to regulate its temperature by sweating. If emergency treatment is not given, heat stroke can result in death.

The key to heat safety, however, is prevention, Martin said.

"What we want our Airmen to realize is that what they do beforehand is going to affect the outcome," he said. "Prevention measures like using sunscreen, wearing a wide-brim hat, staying in shade and, of course, drinking water could save their lives."

For more information about heat safety, visit the Air Force Emergency Management website at www.beready.af.mil.