Growing up in the village of Germantown, Ohio, we were lucky to have a wide selection of “swimming holes” to choose from to escape the summer heat.

Germantown is nestled between two beautiful little streams – Twin Creek and Little Twin Creek. We used to call them Big Twin and Little Twin.

Big Twin Creek starts as a ditch in an isolated farmer’s field many miles away in western Ohio. Mile after mile, it slowly meanders toward Germantown before disappearing into a long, dark, damp concrete tunnel that carries the water under the Germantown Dam.

From there, the creek widens and flows just a few thousand feet from the home I grew up in on South Maple Street.

Nearly every day in the summer, we would pack a peanut butter sandwich and throw an apple into a lunch bag and head to our favorite swimming hole. It was on the north bank of the Big Twin where the water, for many decades, had been slowly eating away the river bank and encroaching on a farmer’s field.

To stop the erosion, someone had poured a large concrete breaker out into the creek. The breaker not only stopped the erosion, but it provided an amazing swimming hole for me and my friends.

At that time (the early 1960s) very few people in our neighborhood had air conditioning. The sweltering heat of summer could only be stopped the good, old fashioned way – lots of water.

It was not unusual to run bare-footed from front yard to front yard and sprinkler to sprinkler all along Maple Street, but the best way to beat the summer heat was to head to “The Breaker” and soak in the cool waters of Twin Creek.

Large, riverbank trees protected our swimming hole from the sun and provided high limbs for dangling ropes. That way we could “Tarzan” our way into the cool water.

There were no homes, paths or roads within eye-shot of the swimming hole. Today it might be called “clothing-optional.” We just called it skinny-dipping.

Regardless of what it might be called today, with a neighborhood full of sprinklers and a prime swimming hole nearby we enjoyed the heat of summer and rarely complained about the non-air-conditioned heat.

We have grown so accustomed to having our summers filled with air-conditioning that many of us have forgotten how to live without that dry, frigid, air pumping into our homes and work spaces.

However, when triple-digit heat and high humidity, cause excessive use of electrical power, any power outage that can take away the simple comfort of air conditioning can quickly become a major, deadly disaster.

Every year, during the sweltering heat of summer, communities across America are challenged by heat emergencies. Fatalities are more likely to happen to people who have pre-existing, serious medical conditions and senior citizens who are less able to tolerate the heat and humidity.

Regardless of a person’s health or overall physical condition, the signs and symptoms of heat stroke and heat exhaustion are almost always basically the same: confusion, dizziness, fainting, fatigue, headache, muscle or abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, rapid heartbeat and profuse sweating. Sweating is often followed by hot, dry, red skin.

If these symptoms appear emergency treatment is vital and lifesaving.

Call 9-1-1 for emergency care. Get out of the direct sunlight. Stop all physical exertion. Drink plenty of water – then drink plenty more. Avoid coffee, caffeine and alcohol. Apply cool water to the skin.

Fans, a breeze or any air movement that evaporates water from the skin can help lower body temperature.

Even better – be prepared. Don’t allow the situation to get out of hand. Start cooling and lowering body temperature before it becomes an all-out heat emergency.

The secret goes back to our childhood years – water, water and more water. You’re never too old to sit in the shade and get soaked by the sprinkler. A child’s wading pool, nestled into a shady corner of the yard or even the garage, can make a great little soaking-center for anyone’s hot, old bones to cool off.

A simple fact of physics is that soaking in water removes heat from the human body 25 times faster than air alone.

If the power fails and the AC goes out, immediately fill the bathtub with cool water. Have it ready for a leisurely soak when you start feeling hot. Have a water filled cooler on the porch, out of the sun. Sit in a chair and soak your feet and ankles in the cool water.

You might not have an old swimming hole at your convenience, but there are other ways to use water to take away the heat. Walk through the new splash park. Sit under a sprinkler or just go soak in a tub.

Getting and staying soaked is better than dealing with a true heat emergency.

Randy Riley is President of Council of Wilmington.