Home Safety

Is your home safe? Be it ever so humble, our home is our castle and we feel comfortable there.  But statistics show that even in our homes, we are vulnerable to accidents or intruders.  By following some simple steps, you can make your home a safer place.  Take the time now to do some research and implement a plan, and your peace of mind will increase. Begin your research by reading the article on Home Safety, presented below.  Follow the links we provide to other informative web sites.  Buy and read a few of the books we recommend below.  This is an important topic!  Do your homework on Home Safety.  Take action now and reduce the chances of your home appearing on the local nightly news program. Related Links: The Home Safety Council  has an informative web site with lots of links to programs, resources and data.  Their Safety Guide has short articles on a wide variety of subjects.   StateFarm's Home Safety page has links to loads of articles in 8 catagories.   According to their site, "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction."  Research potentially unsafe products here.     The U.S. Fire Administration has an excellent web page on Home Fire Safety.  They have links to reports and articles on smoke alarms, escape plans, residential sprinklers and more.   The National Ag Safety Database web site has a page with many links to articles on Home Safety topics.   Better Homes and Gardens magazine has a web site that has a page on Home Safety and Security.  There are a few catagory links, each leading to a list of several articles. For more information on Home Safety, we recommend the following books:

Is Your Home Safe? by Nicole Allard   11/16/05 There are 54,400 fatalities that occur in the home and community or 54% of all injury-related deaths. There were 15 million disabling injuries. About 1 out of 19 people experience an unintentional injury in their home or community each year. In the home there is a fatal injury every 16 minutes and a disabling injury every 4 seconds. The five leading causes of fatal injury in the home and community are falls; poisoning; choking; drowning; and fires, flames and smoke. The leading cause of death in the home, poisoning, took the lives of 11,200 people. This number includes deaths from drugs, medicines, other solid and liquid substances, and gases and vapors. The 25 to 44 age group had the highest death rate. Total deaths from falls for those 65 and older were 12,900. Of those, 7,500 occurred in the home and 2,500 in a residential setting. Of those who survive a fall, 20 to 30 percent will suffer debilitating injuries that affect them the rest of their lives. Smoke inhalation accounts for a majority of deaths in home fires. As you can see, an accident can happen at anytime, even in the sanctity of your own home. How safe is your home? There is also the everlasting fear of someone breaking into your home as well. Is your home secure? Will your home and family be vulnerable to an intruder or an unintentional accident? Not anymore, because I am going to give you some information that will help keep your home and family safe from possible intruders and accidents. What you need to keep your home safe: Home Security Place window decals on all of your windows indicating you have an alarm system, even if you don't. If you do, use it every night or every time you leave your home. There is no sense in having one if you do not use it! Use deadbolt locks on all doors leading outside and make sure all of your windows are secured, especially before you go to bed. Deadbolt locks make it very difficult for intruders to break in, and they know they don't have much time. If you have a sliding door, keep it locked and place a piece of wood or a broomstick in the track. Here is an example of why I always use deadbolt locks and swear by them. My family (fiancé, and 2 small children ages 3 and 6) was out for the day. My kids had gone to my parents' house, and my fiancé and I were off at the hospital. When we returned, I found a flathead screwdriver mark on the inside of our doorframe. Someone had tried to break into our house! Since we both work from home, we were very concerned. The only thing that kept the intruder out was the fact that they couldn't get past the deadbolt lock. It did happen a second time, with the same results. We always use our deadbolt locks, and always have, even during daytime sometimes. Fire Safety According to the National Fire Protection Association, the leading causes of home fires are: Smoking 26%, Incendiary or Suspicious 16%, Heating 14%, Child Playing 10%, Electrical Distribution 10%, Cooking 8%, All other causes 16%. There should be a smoke alarm on every floor and in every bedroom. Test them monthly and replace batteries when necessary. They have proved to save many lives. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and on every floor. Make sure your family has a fire escape plan. Practice this plan about once a month with your eyes closed and close to the floor. Let your children know that if they can't find you, it's all right to get out and ask a neighbor to call 911. Practice this as well. You can get collapsible ladders for bedrooms not on a first floor and practice using them. Have a plan for any situation. Where could the fire be and how would you get out? Try different routes and practice them often. My family has a fire route, a few of them, and we practice them about once a month. It makes my six year old feel a lot safer in case there was a fire. We also have working smoke alarms in each bedroom and on each floor. We check them monthly to make sure they work, usually by burning toast! Prevent Accidents Falls can be prevented in the home by immediately cleaning up spills from floors. If you have a small child or children, keep your home baby proofed. Always keep a baby gate at the top of stairs, and make sure that tubs and showers have non-slip surfaces. Never leave a playing or bathing baby unattended. Keep all poisons (cleaners, alcohol, tobacco, etc.) out of children's reach and put childproof guards on all low kitchen cabinets. Avoid choking by taking smaller bites and keep marbles, balls and small toys away from children. Pools should always have a fence around them with a locked gate to keep small children away. Be Prepared Have a phone in most rooms, especially one within arm's reach of where you sleep. Post all emergency numbers next to the phones, including police, fire rescue, ambulance and the poison control center. Having a first aid kit on hand can help tremendously. You can purchase one from the Red Cross. Also, consider getting trained for CPR and First Aid through the Red Cross. Give them a call and see if there are any locations where you can get trained in your area. Or go to the Red Cross home page and enter your zip code to find your local Red Cross. By following these steps and suggestions, your home and family will be much safer than before.

Email a Friend!     Related Articles    Next Article