Make Safe Toys and Gifts Part of Your Holidays

Thanks to online sales and some retailers starting the holiday shopping season earlier every year, many gift-givers have already begun to purchase items to get a jump-start on their lists. But sometimes, the best deal may not be the safest.

In 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimated that hospital emergency rooms across the country treated 251,700 toy-related injuries. And, 72% of those injuries were to those under the age of 15.

“In order to spend the holidays with family and friends, instead of in the emergency room, we must be diligent in making sure our children are protected,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “We all need to make a conscious effort to think about the gifts we are buying to make sure they are appropriate for every child’s age and development level.”

Prevent Blindness America has declared December as Safe Toys and Gifts Month in an effort to help adults make the best decisions on how to keep the holiday season joyful for everyone. The group is offering toy-buying and gift-giving tips to all those planning to purchase a gift for a child this year.

Prevent Blindness America suggests:

• Make recommendations to family members and friends about gifts that you feel are appropriate for your child. Be diligent about inspecting these gifts before allowing your child to play with them.
• Inspect all toys before purchasing. Monitor toys that your child has received as gifts to make sure they are appropriate for your child’s age and developmental level.
• For younger children, avoid play sets with small magnets and make sure batteries are secured within the toy.
• Gifts of sports equipment should always be accompanied by protective gear.
• Any toy that is labeled “supervision required” must always be used in the presence of an adult. Keep toys meant for older children away from younger ones.
• Avoid toys that shoot or include parts that fly off.
• Inspect toys for sturdiness. Your child’s toys should be durable, with no sharp edges or points. The toys should also withstand impact.
• Don’t give toys with small parts to young children. If the part of a toy can fit in a toilet paper roll, the toy is not appropriate for children under the age of 3.
• Do not purchase toys with long strings or cords, especially for infants and very young children as this can become wrapped around a child’s neck.
• Always dispose of un-inflated or broken balloons immediately. According to the CPSC, more children have suffocated from them than any other type of toy.

At Hunter Insurance, we're dedicated to helping you protect what matters most. For more information on how to keep your family safe this holiday season, call us at 401-769-9500.

“Stand By Your Pan”: Cook Safely This Thanksgiving to Prevent Kitchen Fires

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is alerting consumers that the threat of fires in the kitchen triples on Thanksgiving Day.  

“As fire safety experts have said for years, ‘Stand by your pan!’” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “If you are frying, grilling or broiling food, stay in the kitchen. Not following this advice can be a recipe for disaster on Thanksgiving and throughout the year.” When it comes to fires in the home, cooking fires are number one. They accounted for nearly 150,000 fires (more than 40 percent of all annual unintentional residential fires) each year from 2009 through 2011.  Unattended cooking is the top cause of cooking fires.  Cooking fires also caused the most home fire-related injuries.

To stay safe in the kitchen, avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing with long sleeves near ranges or ovens, watch children closely so they don’t come into contact with cooking food or hot stovetops, turn pan handles toward the back of the stove to prevent kids and others from spilling a pan’s scalding contents onto themselves.  

In the event of a fire, cover a pan with a lid to smother the flames. Never pour water or flour on a fire. That can make it worse. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

“Turkey fryer fires can be explosive and result in serious burns,” said Glenn Gaines, Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator for the United States Fire Administration (USFA). “Only use a turkey fryer outside and away from your home. Never use it in a garage or on a porch. Don’t overfill the oil or leave the turkey fryer unattended.”

Since 2003, there have been more than 125 turkey fryer-related fires, burns, explosions, smoke inhalations, or laceration incidents reported to CPSC staff.  For the incidents reporting a dollar value for the property loss, the total loss reported was around $6 million. 

Consumers should also protect themselves by installing smoke alarms in their homes.  “Roughly three out of five home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms,” said Jim Shannon, President of the National Fire Protection Association. “Smoke alarms save lives.  Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a fire in half.”

Change the batteries in smoke alarms at least once every year and test the alarms every month to make sure they are working.

To provide a better warning of a fire and more escape time, install more than one alarm and interconnect all smoke alarms in the home.  Interconnected alarms speak to one another, so if there is a fire in one part of the house, the interconnected alarms sound throughout the house and alert consumers to the fire more quickly.

For the best protection, install alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside each bedroom, and use both ionization and photoelectric alarms.  Alarms that are powered by house wiring should have a battery backup. 

Smoke alarms provide the warning, but every family should have a fire escape plan as well. Practice the escape plan with everyone in the house so they can get out quickly.  The escape plan should include two ways out of each room (as practical) and a family meeting place that is outside where everyone can meet if there is a fire in the home.

For more information on how to protect your home this holiday season call Hunter insurance at 769-9500.

This article is complements of The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for more information visit www.cpsc.gov.

CANDLE-LIT FIRES

As the popularity of candles grows, so does the incidence of fires in the home. According to the National Fire Protection Association, candles are responsible for starting more than 15,000 home fires each year, which is twice the number of recorded in 1980. An estimated 4% of all house fires are started by candles, and four out of ten candle-ignited fires start in the bedroom. Candle fires also occur most frequently in December, when 13% of the fires involve holiday decorations. Many of the fatalities caused by candle-lit fires occurred among people who were using candles to light homes in which the power had been shut off. Homeowners are urged to use flashlights for illumination and bulbs for decoration whenever possible.

With the holidays here, many people will be lighting candles in hallways, dining rooms, and living rooms. Candles add ambiance and warmth to any room, but they are also a fire hazard. Never leave a candle unattended, and be sure to have a fire extinguisher on each floor of your home. Never place a candle in reach of children or near combustibles such as curtains, draperies, and decorations.