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.

PUFF BACK: What it is and How to Prevent it

A puff back is a misfire in an oil-fired furnace that can send soot throughout a home, covering drapes, bedding, furniture, cabinets, walls, and everything in between.  It often requires extensive cleaning and restoration in addition to repairs to the heating systems. 

A puff back can be a chronic problem, with each ignition sending forth a small amount of soot that slowly accumulates on surfaces, or it can be a single sudden event that sends a large amount of soot or smoke through the heating system and structure. 

This discharge of soot points to an underlying problem with the heating system which will need to be repaired.  To help prevent puff backs, the oil burner and furnace system should be services regularly.

The soot can look like cobwebs.  It is not just a powder-like substance but a black and sticky mix that goes everywhere.  This dirty residue needs to be clean as soon as possible.  Oil based soot is difficult to remove and often causes an odor that may permeate the home.  Here are some tips if a puff back occurs in your home:

• Call our office as soon as possible.
• Assess the situation and the amount of damage that was done.
• Wash all affected clothing and fabric in the house.
• Have ducts cleaned if the home has a forced hot-air heating system.
• Call a repairman to fix the malfunctioning oil furnace.
• Call a cleaning service to take care of the soot and odor. 

Call Hunter Insurance today at 769-9500 for more information on how to prevent puff back and to speak with an agent who will help you ensure your home is properly protected.

Happy Halloween!

We love the holiday spirit here at the office. Especially the Sox outfit!

It’s been one year since Hurricane Sandy, and did you remember to purchase flood insurance?

As we remember the devastation and hardship that many of our neighbors experienced due to Hurricane Sandy, Hunter Insurance urges you to call today to add a flood insurance policy.  Unfortunately, many people found out the hard way that a standard homeowners or renters policy does not cover damage due to ground water flooding.

If your home were to fall victim to flash flooding or excessive rain, your homeowners insurance policy would not pay for any repairs.  Even if your property is not located in a designated high-risk flood zone these types of flooding incidents can happen anywhere, anytime.  According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), about 25% of all flood insurance claims are from areas that are not deemed high-risk.

Adding a flood insurance policy through the NFIP is a smart investment that will protect your home if the unthinkable happens.  You will have the peace of mind knowing that your home and its contents will be restored after disaster strikes.  The average waiting period for a flood insurance policy to take effect is 30 days, so the time to act is now.

If you would like more information on flood insurance visit floodsmart.gov and call Hunter Insurance at 769.9500 to add a policy today.

School Bus Safety

This is an excerpt from the article “School Bus Safety” published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Taking the bus for the first time is a big step for your child. School buses are the safest mode of motorized transportation for getting children to and from school, but injuries can occur if kids are not careful and aware when getting on and off the bus.

Help your kids get a gold star in bus safety by following these tips:

• Walk with your kids to the bus stop and wait with them until it arrives. Tell kids to stand at least three giant steps back from the curb as the bus approaches and board the bus one at a time. 
• Teach kids to wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before getting off and never to walk behind the bus. 
• If your child needs to cross the street after exiting the bus, he or she should take five giant steps in front of the bus, make eye contact with the bus driver and cross when the driver indicates it’s safe. Teach kids to look left, right and left again before crossing the street. 
• Instruct younger kids to use handrails when boarding or exiting the bus. Be careful of straps or drawstrings that could get caught in the door. If your children drop something, they should tell the bus driver and make sure the bus driver is able to see them before they pick it up. 
• Drivers should always follow the speed limit and slow down in school zones and near bus stops. Remember to stay alert and look for kids who may be trying to get to or from the school bus. 
• Slow down and stop if you’re driving near a school bus that is flashing yellow or red lights. This means the bus is either preparing to stop (yellow) or already stopped (red), and children are getting on or off. 

At Hunter Insurance we value our children’s safety more than anything, and we are dedicated to keeping you and your family safe and protected. If you have any questions on safe driving or how to better keep your family protected call Hunter Insurance today at 401-769-9500.

For more info, please visit www.safekids.org.

Protecting Your Property from Flooding – Backflow

The following is an excerpt from the article, “Install Sewer Backflow Valves.”  For more information please visit www.fema.gov.

In some flood prone areas, flooding can cause sewage from sanitary sewer lines to back up through drainpipes into buildings. These backups not only cause damage that is difficult to repair but also create health hazards. A good way to protect buildings from sewage backups is to install backflow valves, which are designed to block drainpipes temporarily and prevent return flow. Backflow valves are available in a variety of designs that range from the simple to the complex.

Keep these tips in mind if you have backflow valves installed:

▪       Changes to the plumbing in your property must be done by a licensed plumber or contractor, who will ensure that the work is done correctly and according to all applicable codes.  They can advise you on the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various types of backflow valves.

▪       Valves should be installed on main waste drainpipes that leave the structure or that are connected to equipment that is below the potential flood level. Therefore, valves may be needed on washing machine drain lines, laundry sinks, fuel oil lines, rain downspouts, and sump pumps, as well as sewer/septic connections.

▪       If you have a sump pump, it may be connected to underground drain lines, which may be difficult to seal off.

We are in the middle of hurricane season and flood season is rapidly approaching. It is crucial you are prepared, and you fully understand what is covered under your insurance policies. For more information on how to protect your home from flooding call Hunter Insurance today at 401.769.9500.