Safety at Home – Page 2 – Risk Management 365

Heating Safety Tips

Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths. Half of home heating equipment fires are reported during the months of December, January, and February. Some simple steps can prevent most heating-related fires from happening.

Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
Never use your oven to heat your home.
Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.
Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.
Test smoke alarms monthly.

via Heating safety tips.

Bring Safety Home, Off the job Safety

What is off-the-job safety?

Off-the-job safety is the extension of an organization’s on-the-job safety culture. Off-the-job safety programs educate employees about being safe while not at work.

A growing number of businesses now consider off-the-job safety critical to good management of health care costs, productivity and profits. More importantly, off-the-job safety programs help save the lives of employees and their families.

via Bring Safety Home, Off the job Safety.

Keep your Family Safe from Home Fires

Although deaths and injuries from residential fires have decreased in the past several years, deaths from fires and burns are still the third leading cause of fatal home injuries (CDC). Seventy percent of these deaths are from inhaling smoke. Two-thirds of deaths from home fires occurred in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Fires are more likely to happen in certain areas or by certain equipment in your house. Be extra careful while you’re cooking, smoking, around candles, furnaces, electrical cords and fireplaces, and with children, toddlers and babies nearby.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, cooking equipment, most often a range or a stovetop, is the leading cause of reported U.S. home fires and home fire injuries.

via Home Fire Safety, Fire Safety Checklist, Tips & Plan, keep your family safe from home fires.

Household Safety Tips

When someone is injured, the effects go beyond that person and extend to family members, friends, neighbors, employers and communities. 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.

Below are a few of the many strategies to prevent injuries:

Stay off your cell phone when you are driving. Your safety practices directly influence the safety practices of your children.
Get trained in first aid, CPR and AED online or in a classroom.
Check and if necessary, change the batteries on your smoke and carbon monoxide detector.
Properly dispose of unused and expired medications.

via Safety at home, Safety in your home, Household Safety | National Safety Council.

Backyard and Pool: Household Safety Checklist

Outdoors/Backyard/Pool

Are all walkways and outdoor stairways well lit?
Are all walkways clear of toys, objects, or anything blocking a clear path?
Are all sidewalks and outdoor stairways clear of concrete cracks or missing pieces?
Are all garbage cans securely covered?
Are all swing sets parts free from rust, splinters, and sharp edges?
Are all parts on swing sets or other outdoor equipment securely fastened?
Is the surface beneath the swing set soft enough (cushioned with material such as sand, mulch, wood chips, or approved rubber surfacing mats) to absorb the shock of a fall?
Are all outdoor toys put away in a secure, dry place when not in use?
Is there climb-proof fencing at least 4 feet (1.2 meters) high on all sides of the pool? Does the fence have a self-closing gate with a childproof lock?
Have all ladders been removed from an above-ground pool when not in use?

Other Safety Issues

Have you removed any potentially poisonous houseplants?
Have you instituted a no-smoking rule in your home to protect kids from environmental tobacco smoke?
Have you considered possible health risks from — and if indicated, tested for — lead, radon, asbestos, mercury, mold, and carbon monoxide?
If there are guns in the home, have they been placed in a locked cabinet with the key hidden and the ammunition locked separately?
Do you always supervise your child around pets, especially dogs?

via Backyard and Pool: Household Safety Checklist.

One Child’s Death is One Too Many: Preventing Backovers in America’s Driveways

Safety Tips for Parents

Keeping your children out of harm’s way requires ongoing education, supervision, and vigilance: there simply is no single fail-safe solution. However, safety experts advise employing the following strategies to help reduce the risk of a backover tragedy occurring:

Ensure your children are properly supervised at all times, especially wherever motor vehicles might be present.
Teach children not to play in, under, or around vehicles — ever.
Always assume children could be present and carefully check the street, driveway, and area around your vehicle before backing out.
Avoid making your driveway a “playground.” If you do allow children in this area, make sure that it’s only when there are no vehicles present. To further protect children who may be outside playing, separate the driveway from the roadway with a physical barrier to prevent any cars from entering.
To prevent curious children from ever putting a vehicle in gear, never leave vehicles running, and keep all vehicles, even those in driveways and garages, locked up tight.
When backing up, always know where all children are and have them stay in your full view and well away from your vehicle.
Look behind you as you back out S-L-O-W-L-Y with your windows rolled down to listen for children who may have dashed behind your vehicle suddenly — and be prepared to stop!
If you’re driving an SUV or truck, remember that the blind spot behind your vehicle can be especially large: use extreme care whenever you back up.

Finally, talk with neighborhood parents about backover incidents and ask them to teach their children not to play in or around any vehicle or driveway. By working together to promote awareness and protective home and neighborhood environments, we can help to keep all our children safe.

via One Child’s Death is One Too Many: Preventing Backovers in America’s Driveways | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Fall Proofing Your Home

Six out of every 10 falls happen at home, where we spend much of our time and tend to move around without thinking about our safety. Many falls could be prevented by making simple changes in your living areas, as well as personal and lifestyle changes.

Take steps to “fall proof” your home, both inside and outdoors. To make your home safer, you can

remove or avoid safety hazards
improve lighting
install handrails and grab bars
move items to make them easier to reach

via NIHSeniorHealth: Falls and Older Adults – Fall Proofing Your Home.

Prevent Fires from Alternative Heat

More than 3,400 Americans die each year in fires and approximately 17,500 are injured. An overwhelming number of fires occur in the home. Many are started by alternative heaters. Here are a few tips to keep you and your family safe.

Portable heaters need their space. Keep anything combustible at least three feet away.
Keep fire in the fireplace. Use fire screens and have your chimney cleaned annually. The creosote buildup can ignite a chimney fire that could easily spread.
Kerosene heaters should be used only where approved by authorities. Never use gasoline or camp-stove fuel. Refuel outside and only after the heater has cooled.

via Home Fire Prevention and Safety Tips.

Protect Yourself From Violent Crime

A list of tips for adults on staying safe

Don’t walk or jog early in the morning or late at night when the streets are deserted.
When out at night, try to have a friend walk with you.
Carry only the money you’ll need on a particular day.
Don’t display your cash or any other inviting targets such as pagers, cell phones, hand-held electronic games, or expensive jewelry and clothing.
If you think someone is following you, switch directions or cross the street. If the person continues to follow you, move quickly toward an open store or restaurant or a lighted house. Don’t be afraid to yell for help.
Try to park in well-lighted areas with good visibility and close to walkways, stores, and people.
Make sure you have your key out as you approach your door.
Always lock your car, even if it’s in your own driveway; never leave your motor running.
Do everything you can to keep a stranger from getting into your car or to keep a stranger from forcing you into his or her car.
If a dating partner has abused you, do not meet him or her alone. Do not let him or her in your home or car when you are alone.
If you are a battered spouse, call the police or sheriff immediately. Assault is a crime, whether committed by a stranger or your spouse or any other family member. If you believe that you and your children are in danger, call a crisis hotline or a health center (the police can also make a referral) and leave immediately.
If someone tries to rob you, give up your property—don’t give up your life.
If you are robbed or assaulted, report the crime to the police. Try to describe the attacker accurately. Your actions can help prevent someone else from becoming a victim.

via Protect Yourself From Violent Crime — National Crime Prevention Council.

Keeping Kids Safe Online

There’s a wide range of dangers that can affect kids online:

Contact with undesirable people, including:

Being approached by pedophiles – for example, in Internet chat rooms
Being targeted by online bullies
Being tricked into disclosing personal information – about your child or about you

Inappropriate content, such as:

Sexually explicit content
Downloads of pirated materials – including music or video files

Computer security issues:

Drive-by downloads – whereby simply visiting a website can result in malicious programs being automatically installed on your child’s computer
Malware infections from peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing programs – can give other people access to your child’s computer
Unwanted advertising, pop-ups, and adware programs – that are often automatically installed when freeware or shareware programs are downloaded

via Keeping Kids Safe Online | Internet Security Information | Kaspersky Lab US.