Water Safety

Water safety campaign 

Our water safety campaign builds on previous year's campaigns focused around the stories of family members and friends who have lost loved ones to accidental drowning.

Mums, friends, sisters, an uncle and a step-dad - whose lives have changed forever since losing a special person - have come together to help reach out to others in an attempt to stop them ever experiencing the same heartache as them. Each one of them has taken part in a short film supporting our campaign to help keep people safe around open water.

As well as warning young people about the dangers of open water, the campaign also offers advice on what to do if you get into trouble in the water (float to live), and what you should do if you see someone else in difficulty in the water (call, tell, throw – call 999 and ask for fire if inland or the coastguard if by the sea, tell the struggling person to try to float on their back and throw them something that floats).

The campaign comes as figures reveal that 236 people accidentally drowned in open water in the UK last year (2023).

In the last five years (January 2019 to December 2023) GMFRS Firefighters have been called to 47 fatal water incidents. Sadly, a number of those who drowned were young people who got into difficulty after jumping into or swimming in open water across Greater Manchester.

Mark Allen

Leeanne Bartley is one family member who is working with us and supporting our water safety campaign. Her 18-year-old son, Mark Allen, drowned in Debdale Park in June 2018 after going into the water. Leeanne, her husband David, and Mark’s eldest sister, Lauren Allen, each shared their experiences of what it is like to lose a loved one to drowning and living without Mark.

Mark Allen

Paul Lawson

Natalie Lawson is also supporting the campaign. Her 16-year-old son, Paul, drowned in June 2017 after he went swimming with his friends in Greenbooth Reservoir. It was a hot day and the teenagers thought it would be a good idea to go into the water to cool off. Natalie bravely shared her story with us to help raise awareness of just how dangerous open water, such as reservoirs, can be.

Paul Lawson

Paul’s friends – Ben Hough and Jordan Yates – also shared their stories of losing a close friend. The pair continue to warn people about the dangers of open water as they talk about how their lives changed forever.

Jack Pullen

Also backing the campaign is Chris Jordan, uncle of Jack Pullen, who drowned in July 2016 at the age of 16 in the River Etherow in Broadbottom, near Hyde. Since Jack’s death, Chris set up the Jack Pullen Foundation, and more recently has developed interactive sessions on his website in a bid to educate more people about the dangers of open water.

Jack Pullen

Chris and Jack’s sister, Fallon, talk about how they lost Jack and the life-changing impact it had on their family.

Dylan Ramsay

Dylan Ramsay drowned on July 3, 2011 in a quarry near to Chorley, Lancashire, at 13-years-old. Dylan’s mum, Beckie Ramsay, has been campaigning to raise awareness of the dangers of open water since that time and has worked with us and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service over the years. Beckie has also shared her story of losing Dylan as part of our water safety campaign.

Dylan Ramsay

Our dedicated water safety campaign includes lots of targeted social media activity, sharing the videos of family members and friends, and banners being put up in areas where young people have drowned or tend to visit with their friends.

Key messages

The campaign key messages warn people of the dangers of open water but also educate them on what to do if they get into difficulty, or see someone else in trouble, in the water. These are:

• 236 people accidentally drowned in the UK in 2023. Don’t become a statistic, stay safe around water.
• Jumping into open water can be fatal. Cold water shock kills and you don’t know what’s lurking beneath the surface.
• If you encourage your mates to go in the water, it could be the last time you see them.
• Respect the water - if you get into difficulty in the water, float to live (external link).
• Respect the water - if you see someone in difficulty in the water remember ‘call, tell, throw’ (call 999 and ask for fire if inland or the coastguard if by the sea, tell the struggling person to try to float on their back and throw them something that floats).

How can you support the campaign?

You can help support the campaign by following our social media channels and sharing messages: @manchesterfire on X, Instagram and Facebook.

#WaterSafety #RespectTheWater #BeWaterAware and #DrowningPrevention will be used during the campaign.

Social media

Use the social media toolkit (Word, 2.73MB)

Download all social media assets - graphics and videos (WeTransfer, external website)

Download Facebook and X graphics only (Zip, 18.9MB)

Download Instagram post graphics only (Zip, 23.9MB)

Download Instagram stories graphics only (Zip, 30.8MB)

Water safety leaflet and poster

Download the 'dying for a dip?' leaflet (PDF, 2.89MB)

Download the 'dying for a dip?' poster (PDF, 2.51 MB)

Other campaigns

This year’s targeted water safety campaign will run alongside Safe4Summer (internal webpage) partnership campaign in Greater Manchester – which includes water safety in more broader terms and advises people about the dangers of open water.

Download resources and find out more about Royal Life Saving Society's (RLSS) Drowning Prevention Week (external website), which runs from 15-22 June 2024.

Find out more about Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) Respect the Water campaign (external website),  which includes information on what you should do if you get into difficulty in water.