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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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.

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More than 9 million children between birth and age 19 are seen for injuries each year in U.S. emergency departments, and injuries are the leading cause of death among children in this age group.

During Home Safety Month —and all year—take some simple hands-on steps to make your home safer. You can protect the ones you love by preventing child injuries at home.

Learn more about it here.

With the economic downturn we are seeing the rise in home burglary.  According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, an American home is broken into about every 15 seconds and a homeowner loses an average of nearly $2,000 in possessions and damages

It is said that every home is a potential target.  With that in mind ADT has listed several tips to prevent your home from becoming burglarized:

• Make sure all hedges and shrubs are trimmed and not covering windows. Overgrown bushes and trees close to your house can be good hiding places and also are an indication that you may be away from home. However, thorny bushes beneath windows can be a deterrent.
• Keep areas in and around the home well lit. A dark property is more attractive to burglars - most will choose not to enter a house that is well lit. Consider installing motion sensor lights outdoors and putting indoor lights on a timer. Also, install lights on other outdoor buildings, such as sheds or garages.
• Always lock all windows and doors when you leave home. According to the Burglary Prevention Council, most home burglaries occur during the day, when people are away at work or school. Practice and remind your family to always close and lock all doors and windows when leaving the house unattended.
• Never hide keys around the exterior of your home. Thieves look in mailboxes, under doormats and above doorways for keys. Do not make it easy for them to get into your home. If you will be out of town on vacation, leave emergency house keys with a trusted neighbor or consider a lock box if you must leave keys outside.
• Never put your name on your mailbox or record your name on your answering machine. Thieves look for any information they can find to gain easier access. Only put the house number on your mailbox and door and say you are “unavailable to answer the phone” on the answering machine without stating your name. By turning down your phone ringer, thieves will not hear calls go unanswered - a sign no one is home.
• Consider a monitored burglar alarm system. A recent Rutgers University study found that alarm systems are an effective deterrent, making a home less attractive to intruders. Make sure your burglar alarm system includes a loud inside alarm, detectors at all exterior doors and motion sensors in bedrooms and main living areas. Most insurance companies also offer a discount of up to 20 percent on homeowner’s policies when you install a monitored alarm.

“Right now we have the summer burglary season colliding with more desperate economic times. That makes it even more important than ever for homeowners to take steps to protect their most precious possessions - family and home.”

Source: Home Security News Blog

In Washington County in Western Maryland, more than 1,200 residents who bought home security systems from unlicensed APX salespeople last year are eligible for refunds. This is all part of a settlement between the state’s Attorney General’s Office and Salt Lake City, Utah based APX Alarm. The government claims APX had door-to-door salespeople working and selling systems in Washington County that were not licensed.

In Maryland, alarm companies and individual salespeople must be licensed, but APX representative Nathan Wilcox told The Herald Mail that company officials didn’t realize area salespeople did not have licenses. Never the less, the AG’s office says that last summer, APX salespeople circulated throughout neighborhoods and were pushy and at times would lie about area crime statistics.

Here are some of the complaints. Sheriff Douglas Mullendore said this of APX salespeople’s actions, “kind of pushing the door and walking in uninvited.” Meanwhile, one local state politician, Christopher Shank, said on APX salesperson would not leave his property. While, a few other residents complained that salespeople came and knocked on their door at night.

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