Safety Tips

Tornado safety tips

2011-07-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

Tornadoes are one of nature's most powerful and destructive forces. Here's some advice on how to prepare for a tornado and what to do if you're caught in a twister's path.

Safety Tips

• Prepare for tornadoes by gathering emergency supplies including food, water, medications, batteries, flashlights, important documents, road maps, and a full tank of gasoline.

• When a tornado approaches, anyone in its path should take shelter indoors—preferably in a basement or an interior first-floor room or hallway.

• Avoid windows and seek additional protection by getting underneath large, solid pieces of furniture.

• Avoid automobiles and mobile homes, which provide almost no protection from tornadoes.

• Those caught outside should lie flat in a depression or on other low ground and wait for the storm to pass.

Building Baby Safety From the Ground Up

2010-04-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A warm bath, lullaby and bedtime stories are staples in your child’s nighttime routine. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges parents and caregivers to add a safe sleep environment to the daily routine of placing baby to sleep.
CPSC staff is aware of 97 crib related deaths from 2002 through 2004.
A CPSC staff analysis of reports of deaths related to cribs found that about half of the deaths were in cribs containing pillows, quilts and other bedding. About half of these were due to suffocation when infants ended up face down on pillows or face down in a crib with pillows, quilts and other bedding.
Thirty-percent of crib deaths were attributed to entrapment between components of old cribs that were in bad condition, with broken or missing parts or loose hardware, and entrapment in spaces generated between the sides of a crib and an ill fitted mattress. The remainder of the deaths were associated with accessories situated in/around the crib (such as window cords or curtain tie backs), falls out of cribs, alterations made to cribs, or entrapment when the child became wedged between the crib and other furniture or a wall.
As CPSC works to remove defective products from the marketplace, parents and caregivers are being asked to take action as well.
The CPSC is urging parents:

To reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation, place baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib that meets current safety standards
To prevent suffocation never use a pillow as a mattress for baby to sleep on or to prop baby’s head or neck
Infants can strangle to death if their bodies pass through gaps generated between loose components, broken slats and other parts of the crib and their head and neck become entrapped in the space.
- Do not use old, broken or modified cribs
- Regularly tighten hardware to keep sides firm
Infants can suffocate in spaces generated between the sides of the crib and an ill fitted mattress; never allow a gap larger than two fingers at any point between the sides of the crib and the mattress
Never place a crib near a window with blind or curtain cords; infants can strangle on curtain or blind cords.
Properly set up play yards according to manufacturers’ directions. Only use the mattress provided with the play yard. Do not add extra mattresses, pillows or cushions to the play yard, which can cause a suffocation hazard for infants.
Routinely check nursery products against CPSC recall lists and remove recalled products from your home
Sign-up for automatic e-mail recall notifications at

Electrical Hazards In The Home

2010-04-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

Summertime increases the demand for electricity and raises the risk of fire in homes with older or damaged wiring systems. Air conditioning equipment, electric grills, and attic fans are some of the seasonal appliances that can place added stress and strain on a home's electrical wiring and cause a potentially tragic fire.

Since electricity is uniquely unforgiving and can cause serious injuries or death, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Electrical Safety Foundation International are joining together to encourage consumers to protect their homes from electrical problems.

Between 1994 and 1998, the CPSC estimates that there were over 360,000 residential fires each year, of which over 123,000 were related to electrical distribution or appliances and equipment, and another 15,000 were related to heating and air conditioning systems. These electrical fires caused an estimated average of 910 deaths, nearly 7,000 injuries and nearly $1.7 billion in property damage each year. Many of these incidents could have been prevented by having an electrical inspection of the house to find hidden hazards.

This summer, CPSC and ESFI are encouraging homeowners to: 1) have an electrical inspection conducted for homes 40 years and older, for homes 10 years and older with major renovations or new appliances added, or that have been resold; 2) learn the potential hazards posed by aluminum wiring systems and contact CPSC if your home is among the two million built with aluminum wiring between the late 1960s and early 1970s; and 3) consider installing arc fault circuit interrupters in place of ordinary circuit breakers, especially if your home is over 40 years old. AFCIs are new technology designed to prevent electrical fires by sensing unseen electrical arcing. AFCIs are particularly important where wiring may have degraded with age.

"The Commission has been working to prevent electrical fires for decades. We are currently working with other federal agencies and safety organizations on a major research project involving aged electrical wiring," said CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton. "Our best advice for homeowners is to hire a licensed electrical inspector or electrician to identify and correct hidden electrical hazards before they become tragedies."

"Most of us are unaware of how dangerous electricity can truly be within our homes," said Michael G. Clendenin, ESFI executive director. "As summer begins, ESFI's goal is to inform consumers of common household electrical hazards and empower them to protect their families and homes. We hope homeowners will come to regard electrical safety as an essential part of routine home maintenance."

It is important for homeowners to understand the severity of an electrical wiring fire, as it often begins behind a wall, in a basement or in the attic where the fire can spread throughout the home before setting off the smoke alarm or becoming evident to occupants. This reduces the amount of time available to escape a burning building.

Below are additional safety tips to help homeowners create the safest home possible:

Make sure smoke alarms are installed on every floor outside sleeping areas and in every bedroom, and are in good working order.
Look for telltale signs of electrical problems such as dimming of lights, frequent circuit breaker trips or blown fuses.
Ask a qualified electrician if your home would benefit from AFCI protection, especially during inspections of older homes or upgrades to electrical systems.
Limit the use of extension cords, particularly cords used to power room air conditioners.
Use light bulbs that are the proper wattage for the fixture - higher wattage bulbs can degrade the wires in and around the fixture