Ah, summertime! It’s a great time for property managers to kick back and relax! Except for that  out-of-control grill fire on the deck of unit 31 that nearly jumped to adjacent  units. And that pesky 13-year-old who broke his finger during horseplay in the  community swimming pool.  

 Actually, maybe summertime isn’t the best time for condo managers to let their guard down.  

 Unfortunately, with the increase in outdoor activity that summertime brings, the  potential for injuries on the property jumps, along with the need for  additional safety measures. To get though the summer without mishap, safety  experts recommend a whole series of precautions to managers.

 Swimming Pools

 The swimming pool and the surrounding area are where most injuries or deaths  occur in the summertime.  

 One of the easiest ways to cut downon these potential disasters is to hire lifeguards, according to Brandon  Whitman, CPO, owner of LionHeart Contracting, a maintenance, construction and  staffing firm in Franklin, Massachusetts.  

 Even where a lifeguard is not required by state or local laws, Whitman says they pay off in a number of unexpected ways – helping to balance against theirwages, which boards may be reluctant to pay in today’s economy.  

 In addition to preventing drowning and enforcing rules like “no running” or “no diving,” Whitman says lifeguards can keep out non-residents who might invade unsupervised pools. By checking to make sure only residents use the pool, Whitman says far less equipment – like furniture and umbrellas – is broken or stolen. In addition, says Whitman, the fewer unauthorized people  in the pool, the lower the cost for the association. “Every human bodythat gets in the pool raises expenses – it takes a little more chemical, a little more cleaning.”  

 For off hours, when lifeguards aren’t present and the pool is locked down, a higher fence – six or eight feet compared with the standard four feet – can lower insurance premiums and keep kids from “midnight swims,” he says.

 Other essential hardware at the pool should include a dedicated landline  telephone to make emergency phone calls, says Dr. Richard Bradley, member of  the American Red Cross Advisory Council on First Aid, Aquatics, Safety and  Preparedness. Cell phones for emergency calls may not be available, and many residents don’t bring them poolsidein the first place, says Bradley.

 Other essential items include a Red Cross-approved first aid kit, a blanket, cold compresses and a spinal back board for transporting swimmers with  injuries, he says.  

 Pool rules should also be clearly posted and enforced, stressing that no one  should ever swim alone. In pools without lifeguards, swimming alone is quite  dangerous, despite its attraction, says Bradley. “I can understand the temptation. If you’re a strong swimmerand the water looks nice, you just want to go in for a swim. But that’s asking for trouble. We ask people not to swim alone,” he says. Educating unit owners about the dangers of swimming alone is quite  important, through newsletters, notices and prominent signs, says Bradley.  

 Insect-borne Illness

 For New England condominiums, serious insect-borne illness comes fromtwo sources, mosquitoes and ticks. Mosquito bites can lead to infection with  either Western Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis, while tick bites can  lead to Lyme disease.  

 Because mosquitoes breed and lay their eggs in stagnant water, the key to  minimizing this hazard is cutting off the breeding cycle, says Bradley. “You’re looking for places where there is standing water and eliminating them.”

 Condo management, Bradley says, should instruct unit owners to clear all junk  off their porches – like old tires and buckets, then turn its attention to common areas. After  getting rid of common area jumble, condominiums need to look at depressions in  the ground where water can collect, says Bradley.  

 Natural depressions, which might be collecting rain water or moisture from the  irrigation system, should be filled in, he says. Depressions formed by tire  tracks from cars parking on grass should be filled, and then barrierserected to keep vehicles out, says Bradley.

 Condos with retention basins – basically an oversized mosquito breeding ground – should hire a professional pest company to treat the water “to reduce mosquito larvae,” says Bradley.

 Ticks that cause Lyme disease can be found alongside the walking trails that are so popular at many New England condominiums. To minimize danger, condos  should cut back bushes and brush so that ticks cannot jump on to owners when they brush against them. And if residents do happen to come into contact with cut-back brush – they’re usually pulled in by their dogs – Bradley strongly recommends that owners inspect themselves and their pets for  ticks when they get back inside. If a tick is found, Bradley says it should be  carefully removed with fine-tipped tweezers.  

 Cookouts and Fires

 While grilling out and socializing with other owners is a summer highlight,  Bradley says unless it’s done properly, the dangers from outdoor cooking extend way beyond burning the  baby back ribs or hot dogs.  

 To minimize the danger of fire, Bradley says cooking should only be allowed on  condo porches if the unit is “completely non-combustible,” or built with only brick and steel. If there’s any wood on the deck, Bradley strongly recommends having owners grill in  designated areas away from residential buildings.  

 Even if a porch is completely non-combustible, Bradley says it also needs to be 100 percent open to allow safe cooking. Semi-enclosed porches can trap  carbon monoxide from cooking, leading to poisoning of residents, he notes. For that reason, Bradley recommendsthat condos specify cooking be done outdoors if the porches are anything less  than fully open.  

 Finally, Bradley says grilling should be a job for adults only, due to risk of  being burnt or causing a fire. Minors should be prohibited from cooking, and children should be likewise banned from getting within three feet of grills, due to the danger of tip-over, he says.

 Parking Lots

 Speaking of children, there’s typically a lot more of them outside during summer with school being out. To deal with late night parties and vandalism that comes from out-of-school teenagers, Whitman says his condos use a towingservice as part of their own security. Each and every night, the condo’s towing company sweeps through and tows every car that doesn’t have a resident sticker, he says. To motivate the towing company, Whitman  says, the condo lets them charge the state maximum and “we let them have all the money from towing; the property doesn’t touch it.”  

 The result, he says, is less rowdyism and even fewer drug dealers. He notes that  at one property, they went from three drug dealers to none “because of the towing.”  

 Water Hose Breaks

 One of the chief causes of property damage during summertime comes from burst  washing machine hoses, according to Sarah Friedman, director of marketing with  disaster restoration firm ServiceMaster by Gilmore Brothers in Framingham, Massachusetts. “We see a tremendous amount of washer hose breaks in the summer,” says Gilmore. “If you’re there [during a hose break] and jump right on it, it’s not much of an issue. But if you’re outat the beach for a day or on vacation for a week, that's when your [broken]  washer hose runs for a few days. Then you’re really in trouble.”  

 To keep water from causing severe damage to multiple units, Gilmore says condo management should instruct owners to install burst-resistant steel hoses along with shut-off valves, whichneed to be in the off position when not doing laundry.

 Management can arrange to have both installed and can step up reminders in  summer newsletters to use shut-off valves, says Gilmore. “They need to shut off the valve whenever they’re not using the washing machine,” she says.

 Staff Training

 When the inevitable summertime accident happens, Bradley says condos can be prepared in a number of ways. Having a Red Cross-approved first aid kit, with a blanket and cold compresses, is the start to being prepared, he says. Larger condos are now also starting  to stock Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), which can restart a heart stopped by a heart attack, says Bradley. “If it’s a bigger facility, they may want to consider purchasing an AED and keeping it  centrally located,” he says. The AED will ideally be located in a publicly-accessible place, and  secured in a cabinet that would sound an alarm when opened.  

 Communities concerned about liability from providing or using an AED needn't be worried, says Bradley. “These devices are becoming so commonplace, I would be concerned that there would be liability if they didn’t have one, or didn’t use it,” says Bradley. Because AEDs are so easy to use and heavily-tested, Bradley says “these devices are extremely safe. Theyhave almost no possibility of causing harm. So the only thing they can do is  save a life, where otherwise a life would be lost.”  

 Training in first aid and CPR is highly recommended, especially for on-site  staff, says Bradley. The site staff “become the front line that the tenants are going to look to when an emergency  occurs,” he says.  

 To be prepared, Bradley recommendsthat managers and staff take courses in First Aid, CPR, and AED and get  certified to perform those procedures.  

 Inexpensive courses are available through the Red Cross in virtually every town  in New England, says Bradley.  

 “Red Cross training is the common thread in all of this. It gives management the  skill and the confidence to act in an emergency,” says Bradley.  

 And when an emergency occurs at the condominium, a little preparation goes a  long way.  

 Jim Douglass is the managing editor of New England Condominium magazine.