Home Safety Tips
Below you will find 10 easy ways that you can make your home safer for you and your family.1. Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home and outside every sleeping area. Test them monthly. If your alarms are ten years old or more, replace them.
2. Develop a fire escape plan for your family: Point out two exits from each room, pick a meeting spot outside and hold a fire drill at least twice a year.
3. Always stay in the kitchen while food is cooking on the stove. If you have to walk away, turn the heat off or to very low and return quickly. Remember: Cooking is the number one cause of home fires.
4. Keep all stairways, paths and walkways well lit, both outside and inside your home. Use railings whenever available. Falls are by far the leading cause of home injury (with 5.1 million injuries per year), but less than 1 in 5 people say that falls are a their major safety concern.
5. Install grab bars in bath and shower stalls, and use a nonslip mat or adhesive safety strips inside bathtubs and showers. Remember: Towel racks or wall-mounted soap dishes should not be used as grab bars — they are not strong enough to support you if you slip.
6. Post the National Poison Control Hotline number (1-800-222-1222) and other emergency numbers next to every phone in your home.
7. Install child locks on all cabinets used to store dangerous items such as poisons, matches and lighters. Nearly 7 in 10 households with young children store household chemicals like cleaners or bleach in unlocked places.
8. Keep your water heater setting at 120˚F or less. Liquid at 140˚F can burn the skin in as little as 5 seconds — or 1 second for a young child.
9. Install four-sided pool fencing with self-locking and self-closing gates. Fencing should completely isolate the pool from the home and be at least five feet high. Constantly supervise children in or near bodies of water such as pools, ponds, bathtubs, toilets and buckets.
10. Mow your lawn safely by checking your lawn for any objects that could shoot from under the blade, and making sure all guards are in place. When you are mowing, keep children inside the house or well away from the area. Use safety goggles and hearing protection.
Pet Safety Tips
Rocky′s knows that pets are often important family members in the household. We also know that their well-being depends solely on our smart decision-making. Here are a few tips to help you keep your pets safe, especially when you are not at home.- Keep chemicals such as antifreeze away from pets.
- Include pet food and supplies in your disaster preparedness kit.
- A home fire sprinkler system protects pets, too: If a fire breaks out when you′re away, sprinklers can control the fire, often fully extinguishing it.
- Keep people safe from your pets: According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites; half of these victims are children.