Safety at Home and in Your Community

Vocabulary: unintentional injuries, accident chain, fire extinguisher, smoke alarm ,Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

The Accident Chain
Main Idea: Many accidental injuries are preventable.

Every year, more than 20 million children and teens require medical attention or face restricted activity due to unintentional injuries. These are injuries resulting from an unexpected event. You can prevent these injuries by breaking the accident chain, a sequence ofevents that leads to an unin- tentional injury. Figure 26.4 shows how stopping just one of the events in the chain can prevent the injury.

Keeping Your Home Safe
Main Idea: Safety precautions can prevent injuries at home.

Accidents in the home are one of the top causes of injury and death in the United States. Common types ofhousehold accidents include fires, falls, and poisonings. You can reduce the risk of these accidents by taking safety precautions.

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Preventing Fires

Common causes ofhousehold fires include burning candles and incense, smoking, kitchen fires, and faulty electrical wir- ing. To prevent fires in your home, follow these precautions:

Keep matches, lighters, and candles away from children. Don’t leave burning candles unattended.
Make sure that smokers extinguish cigarettes com- pletely, and that no one smokes in bed.
Don’t leave cooking food unattended. Clean stoves and ovens to prevent grease buildup, which can catch fire.
Follow the operating instructions for using space heaters.

If a fire does occur, two lifesaving devices can help you escape without harm:

Fire extinguisher, a portable device for putting out small fires. Keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher in your kitchen-one that is approved for flammable materials, flammable liquids, and electrical fires. Make sure that everyone in the house knows how to use it.

Smoke alarm, a device that produces a loud warning noise in the presence of smoke. Having working smoke alarms in your home more than doubles your chances of surviv- ing a house fire. Every home should have a smoke alarm on each floor, near the kitchen and bedrooms.

It’s also important to plan an escape route ahead of time. Identify an escape path from every room of your home and a designated spot to meet up with your family after you get out.

Staying Safe with Electricity

Because wiring problems are a common source of house fires, knowing about electrical safety can help prevent electrical fires as well as electric shock. Here are some safety tips to follow:

Avoid overloading your electrical system.

Inspect electrical cords regularly. If you find any worn or exposed wiring, unplug the appliance immediately and don’t use it anymore.

Make sure extension cords are properly rated for their intended use and have polarized (three-prong) plugs.

Do not run electrical cords under rugs or behind base- boards. Don’t let furniture sit on cords, and don’t attach cords to walls using nails or staples.

Avoid using an electrical appliance near water, and never reach into water to retrieve a dropped appliance without first unplugging it. In homes with small children, cover unused outlets with safety caps.

Preventing Falls

Falls are responsible for about half of all accidental deaths in the home. To reduce the risk of injury from falls, take pre-cautions in these areas of the home:

Stairs. Keep stairways well lit, in good repair, and free of clutter. Staircases should have sturdy handrails, and all stair coverings should be securely fastened down. Never put small rugs at the foot of a staircase.

Bathrooms. Put nonskid mats or strips in the tub or shower. Keep a night-light in the bathroom.
Windows. If there are small children in the home, install window guards on the upper floors. However, make sure the windows can be opened completely in case of a fire.
Kitchens. Keep the floor clean, and mop up spills promptly. Use a step stool to get things down from high places.
Living areas. Keep the floor clear of clutter. Use nonskid rugs or place nonskid mats under rugs. Keep phone and electrical cords out of the flow of traffic.

Preventing Poisonings

Many common household items can be harmful or even fatal if swallowed. Figure 26.6 shows some poisonous prod- ucts that might be found in different parts of the home. To prevent poisonings, follow these tips:

Store products safely. Store all medications and other hazardous substances in childproof containers, and keep them out of the reach of children. Put locks or safety latches on cabinets where dangerous chemicals are stored. Discard medicines that are past their expiration date. Don’t store household chemicals near pet food or water dishes, and clean up spills promptly.

Pay attention to labels. Unless directed by a doctor, never take more of a drug than the label recommends. Check with your doctor if you are taking two or more drugs. Follow instructions for using household chemicals. Mixing chemicals can result in dangerous fumes, explosions, home fires, and burns. Also, fuel-burning appliances such as barbecue grills or kerosene lamps, must be properly vented to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

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Using Computers Safely

Using a computer for a long period of time can lead to eyestrain and sore muscles. It can also cause injuries to the wrists, hands, or arms. To reduce these problems

adjust your position from time to time.
stretch your hands, arms, and body.
stand up and walk around for a few minutes every hour.
sit in a “neutral body position,” a comfortable posture in which your joints are naturally aligned.
Blink your eyes to moisten them and reduce eyestrain.

Handling Firearms Safely

Nearly half the households in the United States contain one or more guns. Gun accidents result in an estimated 650 deaths and 15,000 injuries per year. Most gunshot injuries in the home occur when a child finds a loaded gun. Children need to know that guns are dangerous and can kill people. Instruct them never to touch a gun and to leave the area and tell an adult if they find one.

Adults should also take precautions with firearms. When handling a gun, always assume that it is loaded. Never point a gun at anyone. Add a trigger lock, and keep your finger off the trigger except when firing. Store guns unloaded and in a locked cabinet, lock ammunition away separately, and keep the keys where children can’t find or get to them.

Guarding Against Intruders

Accidents aren’t the only threat to the safety ofyour home. There is also the risk that an intruder could break into your home. To keep intruders out, follow these guidelines:

- Keep your doors and windows locked. Deadbolt locks are the most secure kind. If doors or windows are damaged, repair them promptly. Don’t hide a spare key outside the house. Instead, give a key to a neighbor you trust.
- Use a peephole to identify people who come to the door. Don’t open the door to a stranger. Never tell people that you’re home alone.

Make sure your answering machine does not tell callers you are away from home.
If you come home and see something suspicious, such as an unfamiliar car parked in your driveway or a window that’s been forced open, don’t go inside. Instead, call the police from a neighbor’s house.

Keeping Your Community Safe

Main Idea: You can work with others to protect your safety at school, at work, and in your community.

You have a right to be safe everywhere you go-at school, at work, and in your community. Many communities are tak- ing the following steps to make neighborhoods safer:

• Increased police presence. Putting more police officers on the streets can reduce crime by as much as 15 percent.

Neighborhood Watch programs. Through these programs, citizens watch for suspicious activity and report it to the police.

After-school programs. These programs give students a place to go during after-school hours, when many crimes are committed. Keeping students at school or at a community center makes them less likely to commit crimes and less likely to become victims.
Improved lighting in public areas. Better lighting can discourage crime by making it harder to commit crimes under cover of darkness.

Safety at School

Violence in schools can include fights between students, bullying, gang activity, and the presence of weapons. Other problems that can make school an unsafe environment include vandalism and alcohol and drug use. Eliminating these problems takes a joint effort by school staff, students, and parents.

School staff can develop security procedures, such as hiring security guards, working cooperatively with the police, or using metal detectors to keep weapons out. Schools can also put disciplinary policies in place to deal with offenders. Some schools have adopted “zero-tolerance” policies, which means that a student can be expelled or suspended for a single offense.
Students can develop peer mediation programs to help settle conflicts. They can report crimes or other suspi- cious activities to school staff. They can also clean up graffiti, lead anti-violence groups, and get others involved in community service.
Parents can play a role by being aware of the conditions at the school. They can become involved in school affairs by joining parent-teacher groups, chaperoning field trips, and helping out in the classroom.

Safety on the Job

Millions of teens in the United States hold full-time or part-time jobs. Part-time summer jobs offer a way to earn extra cash, build responsibility and learn useful skills. However, work also has its risks. Each yea, about 52,600 teen workers suffer injuries or illnesses serious enough to send them to a hospital emergency room.

The federal government has enacted laws to protect the health ofyoung workers. First, all employers must meet standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is the agency within the federal government that is responsible for promoting safe and healthful conditions in the workplace. Other laws place limits on the kinds of jobs that teens can do. For example,work- ers under 18 years old are not allowed to drive forklifts, work as miners or loggers, operate certain types of power-driven equipment, or work with explosives or radioactive materials.

Teen employees and their employ- ers can take additional steps to prevent work-related injuries. Young workers can be aware of the risks of their jobs, follow safe work practices, and refuse to work in unsafe conditions. Employers can provide adequate training and supervision.