Fall Back Into Fire Safety

As daylight saving ends, it is also a good time to change your smoke alarm batteries. Alarms should have their batteries changed regularly and tested once a month. All too often, a battery is removed and not replaced, putting a home’s occupants at risk. There’s no way to predict when a fire will occur, so even one night without an operational smoke alarm can be dangerous. According to the National Fire Protection Association, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a deadly home fire.

The Tennessee Daily Herald recommends these smoke alarm safe practices:

◆ Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home, including the basement. For best protection, smoke alarms should be installed inside and outside sleeping rooms. Make sure everyone can hear the alarm and knows what it sounds like;

◆ For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual-sensor alarms;

◆ Smoke alarms with non-replaceable (long-life) batteries are available and are designed to remain effective for up to 10 years. If the alarm chirps on these units, warning that the battery is low, replace the entire smoke alarm right away;

◆ Test alarms once a month using the test button. Replace the entire alarm if it’s more than 10 years old or doesn’t work properly when tested;

◆ Devise a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room and a common meeting place. Share and practice the plan with all who live in the home, including children;

◆ When a smoke alarm sounds, get out of the home immediately and go to your pre-planned meeting place to call 911.

The CDC finds that cooking and smoking are the main causes of fire related deaths and residential fires. The New York City fire department states that 75% of their worst case fires occurred in homes without a smoke alarm. Although the number of fatalities and injuries caused by residential fires has declined gradually over the past several decades, many residential fire-related deaths remain preventable and continue to pose a significant public health problem.

 

This month, SafetySkills is offering the Fire Safety online safety training course for free. While this course is designed for offices and workplace training, it contains useful information that can be applied to home situations. The 20 minute course will help the viewer to understand the importance of knowing and understanding an evacuation plan and what to do in case of a fire in the workplace. The course also touches on portable fire extinguisher techniques and tips. Please visit our free course of the month page for more information on this month’s free course and to get started by signing up for a SafetySkills Direct account.

Home Injury Prevention and Safety Tips

Most people consider their homes as a place of comfort, security and safety. Unfortunately the fact is that each year, more than 18,000 Americans die from accidental injuries that take place in their home. The most common household injury related deaths are unintentional poisonings, unintentional falls, and unintentional fire or burn.

Researchers have identified the major causes of most fires: cooking, heating equipment, and smoking. They have also identified the groups at highest risk of injuries from fires: very young children, older adults, people with disabilities, and people who live in poverty. Additionally, research has shown that residential smoke alarms, when functional, can prevent 50% to 80% of deaths by providing early warning of fires, which often occur at night when people are sleeping.

According to the Center for Disease Control, there are approximately 2 million poison exposures in the United States every year - 57 percent among children under the age of six. Tragically, approximately 30 children die every year due to accidental poisonings. The most common exposures for children are ingestion of household products, such as cleaning substances, medications, cosmetics, personal care products, foreign bodies and plants. The majority of these accidental poisonings - a whopping 90 percent - occur in the home.

Approximately 30% of older adults and 40% of those over age 80 report having fallen in the past year. Falls account for 29% of injury deaths among adults ages 65 and older and result in 300,000 hip fractures annually at a cost of more than $10 billion. Of the nearly 3 million emergency doctor visits each year for falls among children and adolescents, more than 40% occur among infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Annual direct medical costs for falls among young children are estimated at $958 million.

It is a common misconception that injuries are “accidents” that can’t be prevented. However there are steps that can be made to prevent injuries from occurring in your home. Supervision is generally considered one of the strongest yet least understood protective factors against many types of home and community injuries. The key to preventing injuries is making simple changes to your lifestyle - recognizing where most hazards are and how injuries can occur when participating in different activities. Some key home safety tips include:

·         Non slip mats in tub or shower
·         Remove clutter from stairs and walkways
·         Install safety gates in homes with babies and toddlers
·         Use Plexiglass guards on lofts, landings and balconies
·         Have night lights in bathrooms and halls
·         Install window guards
·         Purchase products with child safety lids when available
·         Store chemicals safety and out of the reach of children
·         Post the poison control telephone number
·         Have working smoke alarms and change the batteries once a year
·         Have a fire extinguisher
·         Perform monthly fire drills with your family
·         Be vigilant of small toys and objects that can cause tripping or choking hazards.

Education is also a key in preventing home accidents and injuries. Protect yourself and your family with our online safety training courses such as Fire Safety and Slips, Trips and Falls. These courses can be applied to both home and work situations. SafetySkills also offers an Off the Job Safety training series with courses that start as low as $4.95 each. Titles in this series include Household Chemical Safety, Halloween Safety Tips and Lawn Mower Safety.

For more information on SafetySkills and other course offerings, please visit us at http://safetyskills.com

Emergency Preparedness Week

The National Safety Council (NSC), announced that this week, June 16 - 22, is Emergency Preparedness Week as part of their National Safety Month. This week focuses on encouraging safe behaviors to prevent injuries and deaths in an emergency. Emergencies can include fires, natural disasters and terrorist hazards.

The NSC recommends that families have a plan in case of an emergency and practice it at least twice a year. A survival kit is also an important factor in any emergency plan. Emergency preparedness kit should include:

• One gallon of water per person, per day for three days
• Three days worth of non perishable food and a can opener
• Battery powered radio
• First aid kit
• Tool kit
• Moist towelettes and garbage bags for sanitation
• Plastic sheeting and duct tape
• Cell phone and portable charger

To be better prepared for emergencies, find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be notified. Methods of getting your attention vary from community to community. One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio and TV broadcasts. You might hear a special siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go door-to-door. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) send free informational text messages to WEA-enabled cell phones within range of an imminent and dangerous local situation, severe weather event, or AMBER emergency. You do not need to register to receive WEA notifications. You will automatically receive alerts if you have WEA-capable phone and your wireless carrier participates in the program. To find out if your mobile device is capable of receiving WEA alerts, contact your mobile device carrier or visit CTIA The Wireless Association.

Another good way to be prepared is to think about where you and your family frequent and check with the locations about their site-specific emergency plans. If none are in place, consider volunteering to assist in developing one. If you think ahead of a crisis, you will be better prepared to reunited with your family.

If you are an employer, make sure that your workplace has a building evacuation plan and make sure this plan is practiced regularly. If there isn't a plan in place, visit ready.gov/business for more information on how to develop one. The SafetySkills online safety training course, Emergency Action Plans for Office Employees can provide employees with the knowledge and skills needed to understand emergency action plans and some protective actions that can be taken in different types of emergencies. Other helpful courses for workplace safety include, Fire Safety, Emergency Response, Basic First Aid and Severe Weather and Outdoor Work.

For more information about all of the SafetySkills online safety training courses, please visit us at SafetySkills.com.