Have You Ever Evaluated your Home for Safety?

Have You Ever Evaluated your Home for Safety?

If NOT,

Here are simple but effective measures that can help improve the safety at your home.

Use this checklist as a guide to find and fix hazards in your home. 

•    Do you have a first-aid kit stocked with emergency items?
•    Do you practice a home fire escape plan twice a year so everyone in your family knows at least two exits out of every room and where to meet outside in case of an emergency?
•    Do you test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they are working, and replace the batteries every year?
•    Have you installed smoke alarms on every level of your home and near every sleeping area?
•    Are all stairs and steps free from clutter, well lit and protected with a secure hand-rail?
•    Do you keep all paths and walkways clear of clutter and well lit?
•    Have you installed grab bars in bath and shower stalls and do you use a non-slip mat or have adhesive safety strips or decals inside bathtubs and showers?
•    Have you posted emergency numbers next to every phone in your home?
•    Do dangerous products, including cleaning products, medications and chemicals, have child resistant caps and kept away from food?
•    Are medicines kept in their original containers with the original labels?
•    Do you constantly supervise children in or near water, such as pools, ponds, bathtubs, buckets, etc.?
•    Do you keep your water heater setting at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less?
•    Do you always pull the car out of the garage after starting it?
•    Have you moved objects, such as tires and gardening tools that are leaning against walls?
•    Do you store tools, gardening supplies and automotive parts in a secure cabinet or high shelf out of reach of children?
•    Are all matches and lighters stored in a locked cabinet?
•    Have you installed child safety locks on cabinets where hazardous products and medications are stored?
•    Have you installed baby gates at the top and bottom of stairwells?
•    Do you keep all plastic wrapping, such as dry-cleaning bags, produce bags and trash bags, away from children?
•    Have you placed furniture, including cribs and playpens and beds, away from windows?
•    Have you installed window guards with an emergency release to prevent young children from falling out of upper windows?
•    Are electrical outlets covered with safety caps?
•    Do you keep small items such as jewelry, buttons, safety pins, coins and small batteries away from children?