Hands-On Home Safety
Create a safer home environment

Ask people where they feel safest and most will say they feel safest in their own homes. However, unintentional injuries in the home result in an average of 21 million medical visits each year. In fact, more than 2,000 children die each year in the place parents want them to feel safest, their home. This year’s Home Safety Month Theme – Hands-On Home Safety – encourages individuals to take some simple, “hands-on” steps to create a safer home environment.

The leading preventable home injuries include falls, poisonings, fires and burns. Consider your home’s danger areas and take some simple steps to minimize the risk from potential injuries, or even death .

Fires/Burns

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home and in or near all bedrooms. Test the batteries once a month so you’ll know they’re working. Sadly, the destruction caused by many fires in homes could have been prevented if the smoke detectors in those homes had working batteries.
• Plan a home fire drill and practice it at least twice a year. Make sure everyone in the family knows at least two ways to exit the home.
• For homes with young children, use safety covers in electrical outlets and anti-scald devices in faucets

Falls

• Make sure that all porches, hallways and stairwells are well lit.
• Use a non-slip mat, strips or decals in bathtubs and showers.
• Install grab bars in bath and shower stalls.

Poisonings

• Keep all medicine and household chemicals up high and out of reach of children, preferably in a locked cabinet.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector near sleeping areas in your home.
• Put the Poison Control Center number
  – 1-800-222-1222 – near every phone .

To learn more about making your home a safe place for everyone in your family, visit the Home Safety Resource Center at www.homesafetycouncil.org