MissDomestic.com

By Heather Diodati

Home fires claim thousands of lives, injure tens of thousands and cause billions of dollars worth of damage. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, rural home owners are more than twice as likely to lose their lives in a fire than those in cities or suburbs. By using some of the following precautions, you can help to protect your home, yourself and your loved ones from possible danger from fire.

1) Make sure to keep a charged 5 lb. Fire extinguisher in your kitchen. Failing that, keep baking soda or salt on hand. These are natural fire extinguishers. However, be aware that it takes quite a lot of one or the other to extinguish a fire. For a grease fire in a frying pan, a large-enough pot lid placed on top will deprive the flames of oxygen and smother them.

2) Never force-open your self-cleaning oven door before it has unlocked by itself. The extremely high heat inside the oven during the cleaning process is very dangerous.

3) Ashes thrown out in a cardboard box could re-ignite. Store cooled ashes in a tightly-covered metal container outside of your home.

4) Store all flammables (ie. Gas, turpentine, paints, propane, etc.) in an outdoor shed.

5) Be careful with cleaning supplies. Certain products when mixed together can be lethal. For example, chlorine and bleach mixed together can explode.

6) Chlorine is highly flammable and must be stored outside.

7) Gas-soaked rags should never be crumpled up and tossed in a corner or in a cardboard box or thrown out with paper, cardboard, etc. The gas will heat up instead of evaporating causing the rag to ignite. Air the rags outside by laying them flat so the gas can evaporate.

8) Never clean anything with gas or turpentine inside your home. Gas vapors are heavier than air and will settle near the floor. Any spark can trigger an explosion or flame, for example, a spark from a hot water heater or furnace.

9) Keep furnaces and gas water heaters clear of piled-up boxes or any other combustibles.

10) Keep baseboard and electric space heaters free of hanging curtains and by all means avoid using them to dry such items as mittens and socks.

11) Have your chimney cleaned each year to prevent creosote build-up and inspect it frequently for obstructions and damage.

12) Test your smoke detector batteries regularly.

13) Don’t overload your electrical outlets and never run extensions under a carpet.

14) Never replace a burnt fuse with a penny.

15) Finally, plan and practice an escape route with your family and agree upon a round-up area to make sure everyone is accounted for during an emergency.

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Miss Domestic on February 17th, 2007 | File Under Home Safety | No Comments -

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Carbon Monoxide Detectors Can Save Lives

CPSC Document #5010

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that consumers purchase and install carbon monoxide detectors with labels showing they meet the requirements of the new Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) voluntary standard (UL 2034). The UL standard, published in April 1992, requires detectors to sound an alarm when exposure to carbon monoxide reaches potentially hazardous levels over a period of time. Detectors that meet the requirements of UL 2034 provide a greater safety margin than previously-manufactured detectors.

About 200 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with home fuel-burning heating equipment. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced when any fuel is incompletely burned. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to flu-like illnesses and include dizziness, fatigue, headaches, nausea, and irregular breathing. Carbon monoxide can leak from faulty furnaces or fuel-fired heaters or can be trapped inside by a blocked chimney or flue. Burning charcoal inside the house or running an automobile engine in an attached garage also will produce carbon monoxide in the home.

The first line of defense against carbon monoxide is to make sure that all fuel-burning appliances operate properly. Consumers should have their home heating systems (including chimneys and flues) inspected each year for proper operations and leakage. Inspectors should check all heating appliances and their electrical and mechanical components, thermostat controls and automatic safety devices.

Properly working carbon monoxide detectors can provide an early warning to consumers before the deadly gas builds up to a dangerous level. Exposure to a low concentration over several hours can be as dangerous as exposure to high carbon monoxide levels for a few minutes - the new detectors will detect both conditions. Most of the devices cost under $100. Each home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector in the area outside individual bedrooms. CPSC believes that carbon monoxide detectors are as important to home safety as smoke detectors are.

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Send the link for this page to a friend! Consumers can obtain this publication and additional publication information from the Publications section of CPSC’s web site or by sending your publication request to info@cpsc.gov.

This document is in the public domain. It may be reproduced without change in part or whole by an individual or organization without permission. If it is reproduced, however, the Commission would appreciate knowing how it is used. Write the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information and Public Affairs, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 or send an e-mail to info@cpsc.gov.

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. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC’s web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Miss Domestic on December 27th, 2006 | File Under Home Safety | No Comments -