PERILS OF HOME

Evening Post, Issue 113, 10 November 1930, Page 11

PERILS OF HOME

t WHERE ACCIDENTS ARE

FALLS THE CHIEF DANGER

PRECAUTIONS URGED

Doing things the right way and keeping mentally alert constitute your protection against accidents -which last year caused. 25,000 fatalities and estimated injuries to 5,000,000 men, women, and children in the homes of America, says an ■ exchange. The National Safety Council in Chicago says that 90 per cent, of home, accidents are avoidable. Psychologists say that the right mental attitude is the chief agency for safety in the home. Sloppy housekepeiug produces • accidents and good homemaking promotes safety. Before you read further, suppose that i you make sure your chair is resting on its four legs and that your feet nre on the.floor and not atop some support that may slide or overturn. Recently- a school teacher was sitting on a tipped-back chair with her feet on the top of a wastepaper backet. The basket suddenly turned over. This caused .the front legs of the chair to come down upon the floor. The ■ young woman slid forward. Hex- head struck the back of the chair, forcing _ a hairpin into the brain and causing instant death, according to a Hartford insurance company report. - There may appear to be no hazard in merely sitting in a chair, but be sure that it is substantial and will not fall in pieces. A man recently fractured two .ribs when his favourite rocking chair collapsed. MANY FALLS. One half o£ all injuries are due. to accidents iv thei home and about one-third of these are caused by falls, the National Safety Council has ascertained. Persons fall on slippery floors, tumble down trapdoors, fall from ladders, get cuts and burns, drink poisons which they think are something else., and do all sorts of thought- ■ less things that bring suffering into the home and cause loss of time and money. Many of the falls could 'be avoided by observing the simple practice of having a place for everything and everything in its place. Floors should be of such material that splintering and uneveuness are avoided. Rugs on highly polished floors should be secured by a hook attachment or by use of a new type of base that clings to the floor. To put a wrinkled or an unsecured rug near the top of a stairway is courting trouble. , Furniture should be so arranged that it is not in a direct line "between doors, otherwise a person may fall as he walks across the room in the darkness. THE STAIRS. , Stairways should be provided with railings—at least one—to guard against falls. Do not leave things on stairs; they often cause a person to fall. Worn spots and loose ends of carpets should be repaired as soon as they are discovered.. . This is particularly important when they are on stairs. :Proper lighting of. stairways^ is also necessary to promote safety. Babies and small children should be given increased protection by gates placed at the top and the bottom of stairways to which they might gain, access. Children should be trained not to allow their toys to1 remain strewn around the home. When a baby is old enough to toss toys around he is old enough to learn that he should. collect them, when he is through playing and should place them -in some bos or other receptacle. There have been many distressing consequences from persons passing through doors which they thought led to other rooms on the same floor but which actually opened upon stairways. If such a trap exists in your home, your family I can be protected by installing electric switches so that when the door is opened the light automatically turns on. This would serve to warn absent-minded members of the home and visitors. FIRM FOOTING. , When you remove boxes and other things from high shelves be sure to stand upon a firm stepladder, a strong, wellplaced chair, or on some other substantial support: I)o not use a rocking chair for this purpose. This precaution is particularly important in cases where the objects cannot be firmly grasped if you stand on the floor. Make sure, too, that the things on the shelf are orderly, so that they cannot slide off. • See that the stepladder is in good condition and also that it is spread correctly when in use. If it has a small platform at the top to hold a pail or tools, make it a practice to use that platform for its' intended purpose, not to stand upon. If you use an ordinary ladder, which is set on a slippery surface," have some one hold the bottom of the ladder or else see that it is securely braced. . " Though it seems too obvious to mention, a safety, aid is to have • railings on all porches. This is, of course, an imperative precaution, in homes where there are children. It is best to watch your step when entering or leaving a bath-tub. Mats are made which attach to the bottom of a tub to prevent slipping, and soap should be kept in its dish or tray. Careful housekeeping will protect you from burns and scalds, which constitute the next largest class of home accidents that proved fatal in the United States last year. Many of these were entirely avoidable tragedies. Most persons" are sensible enough not to look for a gas leak with a lighted match, but-there are many who do this ■ very thing. When there is a leak, shut off the supply and notify the gas company. TAKE A TORCH. v When searching for something in a dark closet, barn, or attic, use a flashlight and not a lighted match. If you must' smoke in bed, keep awake. ' Even a little kettle may be a dangerous thing—if it is filled with hot water. The kettle should be so placed on a stove that the escaping steam is directed toward the centre of the stove. When you want to get some hot water, lift up the kettle and pour with the spout away from you. If you are not careful about this, the boiling water may spill on you. When you wish to add water to a dish it is better to use a long-handled dipper than to take the dish to a faucet. Steam rising from the hot water frequently causes burns. When possible, it is best to have a window open -While working in the kitchen or else have a window fan which venti-. lates the room. Recently a grandmother placed a pan of food On a stove in her. home and Sat down for "forty winks" while she waited for'it to cook. She closed her eyes, the pan boiled over, putting out the gas, and the woman was overcome by the fumes. Kettles of fat for frying foods should be carefully watched to prevent, their boiling and spattering grease on the face, arms, or legs. If grease does boil over on top of a stove and catches fire, n liberal handful- of salt' tossed ,on the flames ■will put out the blaze. . Be careful in using petrol, turpentine, and various dry-cleaning fluids. These should be used out-of-doors if possible. WATER SPREADS FLAMES. .Petrol should not be used for cleaning in a poorly ventilated room nor where there is a lighted lamp or open flame of any sort. A chemical extinguisher should be used in putting out a fire caused by any of these cleaning fluids, because watei' is likely to help spread the flames. The fire can'be smothered by use of a rug or heavy woollen blanket or garment, or by throwing sand or earth upon it. A handful of splinters, charcoal, or even paper will start a furnace or grate fire, but the practice- of using petrol or kerosene is an all-too-common one. Be sure thafc a stove is cold before you clean it. Fill a kerosene lamp with kerosene, never with petrol. If the latter is used, an explosion may result. Lamps should be so placed that there is no danger of their falling and so that they arc out of reach of small children. These precautions should be observed when oil stoves are serving for heating or cooking. Before taking an oil heater from one . room to another, be sure that it is not lighted. ■ • ' Do. you know how to light a gas range? Do you always open the oven door before lighting the gas? You should. Failure to open the door first sometimes causeß gas and air to form an explosive mixture in the oven. Another thing: always turn on the gas before you apply the match or other lighter. AVhen lighting a gas stove, a gas heater, or other similar apppliance, the

gas sometimes flashes back and catches fire inside the burner. When this happens, the gas should be turned off at once, then turned^ on and relighted. This prevents incomplete combustion which would allow gas to escape into the.house.When you touch an electric-light fixture be sure that you are not in contact with a water faucet, a radiator, or other metal that is in connection with the ground. A defect in the fixture might produce a leakage of current that could pass through your body to the ground, giving you quite a shock. If you want to turn light* oft or on while in a bathtub, take the ettort to cet out of the water, which is a very emeieut "ground." It is better to have the fixtures out of reach of the tub.