It’s April and I hope none of us are April Fools! During the month of April, safety educators believe that anyone can be an April Fool at any given time.
You are an April Fool if:
- You don’t install and maintain smoke alarms on every level of your home and cabin, outside sleeping areas and inside the bedrooms.
- You don’t test your smoke alarms weekly.
- You don’t have a family escape plan with two ways out of each room, and a meeting place outside.
- You smoke in bed.
- You store gasoline in the home or even in an attached garage.
- You don’t store matches and lighters out of sight and reach of children.
- You leave burning candles unattended.
- You don’t unplug appliances after using them, especially the coffee maker.
- You pour flammable liquids such as gasoline on wood to start of rekindles a fire.
- You don’t test food that has been heated in the microwave before feeding small children.
- You let children under the age of 18 ride a bike without an approved bicycle helmet.
- You store firearms and bullets unlocked and together.
- You do not leave valuable information for the babysitter, such as emergency phone numbers where to reach you and address, etc. (there even have been cases where the babysitter needed emergency personnel but had no idea of the address he/she was at!)
- You use a ladder by yourself without tying it off and without someone holding it near the base.
- You don’t wear your seat belt when driving in a motor vehicle (motor vehicles accidents are still the number-one cause of accidental death in Canada but many people still do not listen to the wise advice that police officers preach).
Note: In all my years of responding to vehicle accidents, I have never unbuckled a dead person!
Remember, if you never need what you learn about personal safety, you have lost nothing. If you never learn what you need, you may lose everything–your family and your life!
