PCI's Roadmap to Summer Safety: Camping and Campfires

CHICAGO, IL – Summer time is the season for you and your family to enjoy outdoor activities. Camping and campfires are some of the most popular pastimes, drawing more than 40 million people and bringing in around $5 billion in revenue from campgrounds and RV parks.

Before heading out to the campground it’s a good idea to speak with your insurance agent and ask if you have the right amount of coverage on your RV.  Make sure you are prepared so you can enjoy without worry. 

In addition to camping as a family, nothing creates life long memories for kids like going to summer camp. There more than 12,000 summer camps which employ 1,500,000 staff members in the United States. Sitting around the campfire making s’mores is a staple when your child is at camp this summer. When building your campfire, start by using small dry twigs and add larger sticks as the fire grows. Keep any extra wood you have upwind away from the fire. Keeping a fire smaller is easier to control, the suggested size for a campfire is 2’ x 2’ x 2’.

Make sure you and your family take precaution whenever near a campfire as they are the leading cause of children’s camping injuries. If you or someone you know gets burned by a fire, place the burn in cool water for three to five minutes and then cover then burn with a clean dry cloth. Seek additional medical treatment if the burn is larger than the size of your palm.  Also, remember the fun around a camp fire can be dampened by causing a wildfire.  Officials from CAL Fire remind everyone that 95 percent of wildfires are caused by humans.  So remember to properly extinguish your fire and follow all rules and regulations your camp ground has for burning a fire.  It only takes one spark to ignite so don’t let summer fun get out of control.

PCI’s Summer Camping Safety Tips  

• Build campfires 15 ft away from tent walls, shrubs, or other materials that burn

• Never use flammable liquids to ignite or keep your fire burning

• Keep plenty of water nearby

• If you do not have water to extinguish your fire, use dirt

• Do not bury your coals

   

For more information on Summer Facts and Tips you can follow @PCIAA on Twitter

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