While home sick from work today, I was channel surfing the local cable stations, and stopped when I found a compelling fire safety video concerning the dangers of smoke inhalation during a house fire.

I’ve seen a number of fire safety videos, but none as well done as this one. It was so good I actually watched it through to the end to see if I could find out who had produced it to see if it was available online.

With a little bit of help from Google, I found an announcement at the website of the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) of Greater New York that has a great deal of background on the documentary. Apparently the series was produced by retired Emmy Award winning science journalist Dr. Frank Field with the help of a grant from the MetLife Foundation.

I also found that someone has uploaded the episode I watched to YouTube in two parts (part 1, part 2) - I’ve embeded them below.

It’s realistic, accurate, compelling, dramatic, and incredibly informative.

The complete collection of “Fire Is…” fire safety videos is also available for purchase at Amazon.com.

Source: WFRV News

GREEN BAY, Wi–(WFRV) The Green Bay Fire Department responded to a carbon monoxide call on Saturday evening at 10:42 pm. The home residence, 1600 Farlin Avenue, recorded very high levels of CO.

Five children and two adults were transported to the hospital for CO exposure.

The Green Bay Fire Department says the CO was ventilated from the home.

The fire department says the source of the CO was produced from a generator running in the garage used to supply power for lights and heat.

Source: Oct 25, 2010 - Washington Examiner

Howard County fire officials say a home where seven Elkridge residents suffered carbon monoxide poisoning had a working carbon monoxide detector. Fire officials say several residents had made their way out of the home by the time Howard County and Baltimore County rescue units arrived just before midnight Saturday. The seven were reported in stable condition Sunday after being taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center. - AP

Baltimore Sun:

Officials praised the fact that the home had a working carbon monoxide detector.

“As in this case, a working carbon monoxide detector can mean the difference between life and death,” Howard County Fire Chief William F. Goddard III said.

Heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel can be sources of carbon monoxide.

Home invasion and burglary is on the rise. With unemployment still hovering around 10% and an economy struggling to rebound, some are turning to drastic measures. One community in Fairfax, VA has been hit over 90 times in only a couple of months.

Citizens must remain viligent and aware. The police and home owner associations will remind you to lock your doors and report and “suspicious” activity. However, there is more that you can do to protect your home and family.

At Homesafe.com you can find many articles on how to protect your valuables as well as find top-rated products for securing your home and protecting your most valuable belongings. Burglars “think like the common homeowner.” The first place they will look for money and valuables is your sock drawer. If you are serious about keeping important documents and heirlooms safe…is a safe. Home safes come in many different shapes, sizes and price ranges.

Click here for more.

Author: Maria Richmond for HomeSafe.com

It has no smell, nor can you see carbon monoxide, yet it is very dangerous and kills several hundred people each year.

Carbon monoxide is produced by fuel burning appliances such as, gas space heaters, gas furnaces, wood burning stoves, fireplaces, gas dryers, gas ranges, ovens, even your car. If your appliance is working properly, it will not produce enough carbon monoxide to be harmful. If it is not functioning properly, carbon monoxide can leak from the appliance in amounts that can be harmful, even fatal if enough is inhaled.

Carbon monoxide is absorbed through the bloodstream. Carbon monoxide in the bloodstream makes it impossible for oxygen to be absorbed by your vital organs. When your organs are unable to have access to, nor able to utilize oxygen, they starve and become unable to function.

Children and pregnant women (the fetus) are at even greater risks of CO poisoning. Children naturally have a higher metabolic rate. This means that they require higher amounts of oxygen for their vital organs, like their hearts and brain. When CO interferes with the delivery of oxygen to these vital organs, children can suffer severe complications from CO poisoning, such as brain damage and death.

Read the rest of the article…

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Proper placement of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector is important, reminds the makers of home-safety and security website HomeSafe.com (http://www.homesafe.com/coalert).

Each fall the sad news of another family that has one or more of its family members perish in their sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning repeats itself.

The real tragedy is that these deaths can be prevented if the family had the chimney checked and/or installed carbon monoxide detectors near the sleeping and living areas within the house.

If you are installing only one carbon monoxide detector, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends it be located near the sleeping area, where it can wake you if you are asleep. Additional detectors on every level and in every bedroom of a home provide extra protection against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Homeowners should remember not to install carbon monoxide detectors directly above or beside fuel-burning appliances, as appliances may emit a small amount of carbon monoxide upon start-up. A detector should not be placed within fifteen feet of heating or cooking appliances or in or near very humid areas such as bathrooms.

When considering where to place a carbon monoxide detector, keep in mind that although carbon monoxide is roughly the same weight as air (carbon monoxide’s specific gravity is 0.9657, as stated by the EPA; the National Resource Council lists the specific gravity of air as one), it may be contained in warm air coming from combustion appliances such as home heating equipment. If this is the case, carbon monoxide will rise with the warmer air.

Installation locations vary by manufacturer. Manufacturers’ recommendations differ to a certain degree based on research conducted with each one’s specific detector. Therefore, make sure to read the provided installation manual for each detector before installing.

For more information about carbon monoxide poisoning prevention and to find top-rated CO detectors for your home, visit the CO ALERT at http://www.homesafe.com/coalert.

We are currently seeking freelance writers with experience/expertise in a variety of home safety fields (home safes, home safety, home security, baby-proofing, carbon-monoxide poisoning, fire safety, gun storage safety, etc) for paid or “link-in-trade” freelance writing work, contributing blog posts or articles to the HomeSafe.com group of sites (www.homesafe.com/articles, www.homesafe.com/coalert, blog.homesafe.com) .

Must have expertise in the chosen subject matter and be familiar with modern web-writing SEO considerations. Your article must be original work that is not available anywhere else online. Your article or blog post should arrive ready to publish, in plain text format, with perfect spelling, and full urls for any supporting online references. You will provide the article, a suggested headline, a list of keywords specific to the article, and a “teaser” description that may or may not be used.

We may edit the content, adding images and links to other sections of our website (product catalog). We will feature all new articles with a blog post that “teases” the article on blog.homesafe.com. Blog posts will be cross-posted as headlines or teasers on various social networks related to the subject.

If interested in writing for HomeSafe as a freelance writer, please send an email along with a sample of your writing (or links to examples of your work) on any of the related subject matter (see paragraph one) to homesafe@compendiumusa.com along with your contact information and rate required per article.

With record-breaking heat waves baking much of the country, it seems like an odd time to be thinking about your furnace or it’s chimney, but this is the season to get your furnace chimney checked by a qualified chimney sweep or furnace maintenance company. Failing to do so could cause carbon monoxide poisoning problems in a few short months when the weather turns chilly again.

Why is that?

In the spring many creatures large and small make their homes in fireplace and furnace flues, to nest or have their young in the relative comfort of the cool, quiet, and dark “cave” that is open on the roofs of many homes across the country. These creatures like birds, squirrels, raccoons and bats can bring a mess of nesting materials with them, or create a mess of droppings left behind, potentially clogging the chimney either at the top (with a bird nest) or at the bottom (near the thimble where your furnace connects).

What happens during the summer is that the young have grown, left the chimney, and left behind a potentially deadly situation for the people living in the home.

That nesting material, along with any other mess left behind, can reduce the ability of your chimney to exhaust the deadly carbon monoxide fumes generated from your furnace or non-electric water-heater. (Hint: If your furnace or water-heater uses fuel like natural gas, propane, or oil - then it creates carbon monoxide.)

If the chimney flue is partially blocked, then the odorless but dangerous carbon monoxide can escape into the home. In the worst-cases, the mess left behind may actually block the chimney completely, causing all of the carbon monoxide to dump into the home, possibly building to concentrations high enough to cause death.

Read the Rest…

Every year nearly 5,000 young drivers are killed in automobile accidents in the US, and a staggering 300,000 more are injured or maimed. Car accidents account for nearly 40% of the total number of deaths for teens ages 15 to 19, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The National Institute of Child Health has created a program called The Checkpoints Program, which teaches parents to limit teen driver’s exposure to certain dangerous driving conditions for the first 12 months after recieving their license.

The central theme of the program is the creation of a teen driving contract, a written agreement between the parent and the teen driver that specifically addresses the limits to driving privledges, the consequences if those limits are ignored.

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Despite people feeling safest in their homes, this is where most people get injured or die in fires, according to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency). Nobody imagines there will be a fire in their house until it happens, so it’s vital to take all the precautions, first of all to prevent a fire from occurring, but also, to be prepared if there is a fire (despite your best efforts, you will never be able to make your home 100% fireproof). Following a few simple rules will ensure that the risk of a fire is greatly reduced, but also that you and the people you live with will not be hurt if it does happen.

Read the rest…

Teaching your children how to use the internet safely:

The message hammered home by Tucker was for parents to keep open the lines of communications with their children. He hit on every social networking site, including Facebook and MySpace, and demonstrated how too much information makes children prime targets for sexual predators. He used a young girl’s MySpace page to show how anyone could track her whereabouts because of her disclosure of her photograph, hometown, where she likes to shop and where she goes to school. Posted photographs added other clues.

Read the whole story here.

Source: http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm

There are some very important things that you need to keep in mind when you’re on your computer at home or at school.

• First, remember never to give out personal information such as your name, home address, school name, or telephone number in a chat room or on bulletin boards. Also, never send a picture of yourself to someone you chat with on the computer without your parent’s permission.

• Never write to someone who has made you feel uncomfortable or scared.

• Do not meet someone or have them visit you without the permission of your parents.

• Tell your parents right away if you read anything on the Internet that makes you feel uncomfortable.

• Remember that people online may not be who they say they are. Someone who says that “she” is a “12-year-old girl” could really be an older man.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Boys & Girls Clubs of America have created a great site for parents regarding internet safety. There’s an interactive section designed just for kids, and information for parents, law enforcement, and teachers.

Visit the main site: http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx

Children’s site: http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexFL.htm

Educators site: http://www.netsmartz.org/educators.htm

Source: Children’s Hospital Boston - by LOIS LEE, MD, MPH

The city of Boston recently celebrated the fact that no citizens within the city died as a result of a house fire in 2009—the first year with no deaths since 1972, when the Fire Department started keeping records about fire-related deaths. It seems to me in 2010 that deaths from house fires should be a phenomenon of an earlier century, but sadly this is not true.

With some of the older type of housing and the various types of heating devices families use to survive the long New England winters, this is an important fact to celebrate. The use of space heaters, the presence of old electrical wiring and living with persons who smoke in the home all increase the risk of a house fire.

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Fires start quick and spread even quicker which often leads to panic during a dangerous situation. A well prepared home is the best defense for saving your family during a dire time of need such as a fire. If you live in a multistory home or apartment building then a fire escape ladder is one product you must have for a safe exit. It is very common for a building fire to cutoff access to certain areas including stairways and elevators. Not to mention, it can be very dangerous to use an elevator during a fire since you have no idea where the fire has spread. Here are some tips on picking a reliable escape ladder that will always be there for you during an emergency.

Read the rest…

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Recently your friends have been talking about their home safes. The discussions are general, non-specific. You then notice that crime seems to be increasing; after all the economy is suffering and when the economy suffers crime does increase, but why should you buy one? Really what is the point of having a safe inside of your own house? Safes are something that banks have so what is the point of having one inside your home?

Safes give you the ability to protect items within your home that possess value, be it to you or to someone else.

Do you have a will? Where are you going to store those wedding photo proofs that are irreplaceable and everyone tells you need to be put in a safe place? Do you own any expensive jewelry, precious metals or gem stones? Are there small children with access to your possessions? If you answered yes to the last question then answer this one, do you own a gun? Are you sure they a) can’t find it and b) if they do that it’s not loaded?

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Every 83 seconds a residential fire breaks out in the United States. Each year, residential fires injure over 39,000 American children under the age of 14. In two-thirds of these homes, the smoke detector either doesn’t work or doesn’t exist.

Statistics show that installing a smoke detector saves lives. According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), “Homes with a smoke detector typically have a death rate that is 40 to 50 percent less than the rate for homes without a smoke detector.”

The NFPA sets the rules and regulations pertaining to residential smoke detectors, but most people aren’t aware of these policies. The NFPA also provides the public with information on smoke detector maintenance and when you should replace them.

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If you have guns in your home for hunting, protection or recreational shooting, you need to have somewhere to keep them. Many people love to display their guns in a beautiful gun cabinet, with a wood finish and glass doors so everyone can see them. Others choose to keep their guns in a gun safe- a locked, metal cabinet that securely stores the guns, but doesn’t display them for view. Which one is the best choice for you?

More and more people are choosing gun safes over display cabinets. A gun safe will prevent your guns from being taken out without your knowledge- which could thwart a burglar or more importantly, save a life. If you have children in your home, it’s a no-brainer- you need a gun safe to keep these weapons from being discharged accidentally or by the wrong people.

Some high quality gun safes have the security of a locked metal cabinet, with the look of wood and glass for display. These safes use a thick, tempered glass and a wood veneer, so they serve as furniture while keeping your firearms secure. You can find gun safes that resemble cedar chests or others that look just like a armoire, so you can keep your guns hidden while having a lovely piece of furniture to display.

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If you are looking into purchasing a security safe for your home you might be surprised at the options available. There are a variety of security safes ranging from ones that can be built into your home to freestanding. Before beginning your safe shopping excursion you should first consider what you plan to put in your safe. Are you looking to store documents, jewelry, cash, electronics or other items? Knowing what you will be storing in your safe will make your purchasing decision an easier one.

Safes are used for primarily two reasons. The first, to protect your items from theft and the second to protect your items from fire. You can get safes that offer protection from one or the other or both. You will need to decide, before shopping which type will suit your needs.

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Most everyone has some type of valuable that should be kept some place safe. From jewelry to coin collections to important paperwork and more a home safe can be very handy for storing valuable possessions. On the search for the perfect safe for your home you will find an abundant of choices available. Here is a look at some features that you should consider high priority when choosing a safe for your home.

Home safes offer different types of protection. The main choice consumers have is whether to choose a fire proof safe, a burglar proof safe or one that protects from both. Of course within each option there are different degrees of security levels to decide on.

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Inside this article, you will learn how serious that danger of Carbon Monoxide can be at home and at work. It is recognized as a serious health hazard, responsible for more deaths than any other form of poisoning around the world Carbon Monoxide (CO) especially dangerous because it is a combination of Carbon and Oxygen that cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. On average, in the United States death from CO poisoning averages nearly 170 annually.

The final outcome of inhaling CO is oxygen-starvation of the body’s internal organs. As CO is taken into the lungs, it unites to the hemoglobin far more rapidly than oxygen can. This results in the failure of internal organs, as they become starved for enough oxygen to work properly. Early warning signs of poisoning include headaches, fatigue and nausea, all of which can easily be mistaken for influenza.

Read the rest…

Source: Orlando Examiner

With the current winter storm sweeping the nation already responsible for at least a dozen deaths, it’s not surprising people are seeking refuge in their warm homes.

But when the weather turns cold outside, things can heat up inside — sometimes a little too much, if you don’t take precautions.

Dumping nearly 20 inches of the white stuff on Madison WI, and 15 more in Green Bay, the year’s first major pre-winter snow storm swept a large portion of the U.S. this week, leaving Wisconsin in a state of emergency.

As the winter storm moved off the East Coast, it left in its wake the return of “lake effect” snow bands, lingering blustery conditions and frigid temperatures.

On Wednesday, a follow-up storm was approaching from the West, where temperatures have been lower than normal — including a record 16-degree reading in Redding, CA.

Winter storm conditions blanketing much of the nation comes with a triple-threat to household health and safety — issues related to carbon monoxide poisoning, home heating and power outages, according to the Home Safety Council.

However, while you can’t change Mother nature, you can change behavior to keep the home safe when winter blasts howl around your home.

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Utah Department of Transportation and its public safety partners have created a program called Zero Fatalities, and recently released a powerful 15-minute documentary addressing the growing problem of texting while driving today. View the video below.

The intent is to alter the public’s current perception that traffic fatalities are an inevitable reality that must be accepted. Instead, by making minor changes to our driving behaviors, our roads will become safer for drivers and passengers. We can prevent the deaths of thousands of people.

Traffic fatalities are preventable - not inevitable, yet they are the leading cause of death for children, for teens, and for everyone between 3 and 33 years old. In fact, according to the National Safety Council, your chance of dying in a car crash sometime in your life is one in 84. How many crashes can be prevented each year if everyone in the car is properly restrained, or not drunk, or drowsy, or speeding?

There are techniques and emerging technologies that can help remind drivers to ignore their phone and text messages while driving.

(Read More…)

Thank you to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the defense and interest of our great country. Without your service and sacrifice, and the steadfast support of your families and friends, our way of life would not be possible.

Each year electrical fires result in millions of dollars in property damage, causing an even higher percentage of damage than fires caused by many other sources, such as unattended cigarettes and candles.

As part of Fire Prevention Week, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) reminds you that many electrical fires can be prevented. Preparation, safety, training, and continuous education are the most important practices a business owner should implement.

Electrical fires consistently rank among the top five causes of commercial building fires involving health clinics and hospitals, manufacturing plants, nursing homes, warehouses, farming operations, bars and restaurants, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

A study by the U.S. Fire Administration found electrical malfunction was the leading cause of 4,065 fires in medical facilities between 2004 and 2006, resulting in more than $34 million in property losses.

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