Newspapers / The Shore Line (Pine … / Feb. 1, 2019, edition 1 / Page 16
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PKA News By Alica Kramer Durham Electrical safety recommendations for docks/boat lifts February is a great month for dreaming about 2019 summer fun with children and pets happily splashing around Pine Knoll Association (PKA) residents’ docks. However, PKA would like to remind residents of a silent killer: Electrical Shock Drowning (ESD). ESD is caused when low-level electrical current passes through the body with enough force to cause paralysis, which results in drowning. ESD or an in-water electrical shock can occur anywhere there is electricity near the water. ESD is a silent killer because there is no visible sign of electrification. Electricity can enter the water from wiring on a dock or marina, from boats that are connected to the marina’s power supply and from boat lifts that are in the water. Some examples: • In June 2017 in New Jersey, three girls were swimming on a raft near a boat lift. An 11-year-old girl reached up and touched the boat lift and was electrified. She could not be revived. • In April 2016 in Alabama, two girls entered the water from a private dock and began to get shocked. The girls’ father and brother jumped in the water to assist, and the father began to black out. One girl drowned. • In August 2015 in Alabama, a 37-year-old man went swimming from his dock after mowing the yard and was found on the bottom under his boat. Investigators say he was shocked before he drowned. • In June 2010 in North Carolina, a dock Owner was told by children swimming that they felt tingling. He reached up and touched the lift and was shocked. He told the children to get out of the water; however, one boy drowned. PKA encourages you to keep your family and your neighbors’ families safe. Remember, an electrical shock can come from a neighbor’s dock and boat lift. Below are guidelines from the Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association and BoatUS on how to reduce electric shock risks. • Inspect all docks and boat lift electrical systems annually and after periods of violent weather. • Install ground fault protection on all electrical systems used by docks and boats. Annually, test ground fault protection and never bypass. • Do not swim around marinas that run power to boats. • Never allow children or pets to swim within 50 feet of a boat lift that is in the water. Better yet, if you are allowing swimming around your dock and boat lift, turn the breaker off that runs power to your dock. • Warn paddleboarders, kayakers and rafters to never touch a boat lift for stabilization while in the water. • Do not use a boat lift or dock attached to an electrical lift to lower yourself (even on a kayak or paddleboard) into the water. For more information visit: • The Electrical Shock Drowning Prevention Association at electricshockdrowning.org, a non-profit organization founded by two fathers who lost children to ESD and devoted to bringing awareness to the dangers of electrical shock in recreational waters • BoatUS’s Electric Shock Drowning Resource Center at boatus.com/seaworthy/ esd.asp • Electrical Safety Foundation international (ESFi) Boating and Marina Safety at ESFi.org Join the team. We are looking for volunteers to serve on the PKA Board of Directors, which is essential to preserving our neighborhood resources. The commitment is a monthly meeting for one hour and, from time to time, a Ifttle homework to help your community. If I can do it, so can you. Positions start in June 2019, and nominees are needed by March. Please email adurham@ec.rr.com or pkabox905@gmail.com for more information. PKA contact. Contact PKA by phone at 252-240-1717, by email at PKAbox905@ gmail.com, via the website at pineknollassociation.com or by mail at PO Box 905, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512. Tike us on Facebook at Pine Knoll Association Inc. WHAJTOOO IF YOU SEE atmw SHOCK omwHm taking pla -Graphic from Electrical Safety Foundation international (ESFi.org); used with permission The COUNTRY CLUB of the CRYSTAL COAST .. .where fiiemis connect 18 HOLE CHAMPIONSHIP 50LF & SOCCER GOLF COURSE 4-CLAY LIGHTED TENNIS COURTS | SWIMMING POOL restaurant! bar & GRILLE .. WEDDINGS i BANQUETS ■ PARTIES 252-726-1034 (ext. #12) | crystalcoastcc.com 152 Oakleaf Drive | Pine Knoll Shores | NC 128512 The Shoreline I February 2019
The Shore Line (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.)
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Feb. 1, 2019, edition 1
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