Metro Parent » Safety

Trick or Treat Safely – and Charitably!

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:00:21 +0000

It’s nearly time for Halloween so we thought we’d take this opportunity to share some safety tips from the Safety Store at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel to ensure a happy, healthy holiday (sugar overload not withstanding!):

1. Help children choose fire retardant costumes that can be seen in the dark. Add reflective tape or strips to costumes and treat bags.
2. Wear shoes that fit properly (even if they don’t “go” with the costume) to avoid trips and falls.
3. Rather than wearing a mask, which may restrict a child’s vision, paint their face instead. (If a child wears a mask, make sure it does not interfere with their breathing or hearing and be sure the eyeholes are wide enough that it does not interfere with their eyesight.)
4. Carry a flash light or glow stick to increase visibility to drivers.
5. Trick or treat in groups, adults should accompany children as escorts to doors and carefully inspect all treats collected prior to children eating it.
6. Talk to your children about walking safety, including the following:
. – When crossing the street, cross at a corner using traffic signals and crosswalks.
. – Always walk, never run out into the street or cross between two cars.
. – Look left, then right, and left again when crossing the street.
. – Make eye contact with drivers; make sure the driver sees you before you cross the street.

And to make the holiday happier for children everyone, consider having your trick or treaters bring a little orange UNICEF box with them to collect donations for the world’s neediest kids, too. This year, UNICEF is also introducing a “Party for a Purpose” program, with great ideas for hosting a FUNdraising fete of your own. Get details at unicefusa.org/trickortreat.

Last but not least, if you’d like to avoid the ongoing sugar craze in the days following Halloween, encourage your kids to participate in a Candy Exchange like the one at World of Smiles Pediatric Dentistry (11790 SW Barnes Rd., Suite 280). Dr. Michelle Stafford welcomes kids -– patients or not! -– to turn in their unopened Halloween loot for fun prizes on weekdays from Nov. 1-7. (The more you bring in, the more you earn!) For details visit visitworldofsmiles.com or call 503-626-9700.

Family Fire Safety (Part 2 of 2)

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:00:14 +0000

Last week I wrote about my family’s efforts to learn about fire safety. This week, I want to share some valuable — and surprising — information I gathered along the way.

One of my main fire safety questions turned out to something of a red herring because what I had considered an important part of our home fire safety plan is, in reality, questionable at best. I was curious to find out how many fire extinguishers we should have in our home, where they should be placed, if they need to be inspected at regular intervals and, if so, how/where? Unable to find information online to satisfy my curiosity, I emailed Portland Fire and Rescue (PPR) for help.

Here’s an excerpt of the answer I received from PFR firefighter and Public Education Office Don Porth:

“Fire extinguishers can be both good and bad. We don’t recommend having or not having one. Most homeowners will get a break in their insurance rates for having them, so we know many are out there.

“The bigger question becomes when or when not to use them. The answer to that is quite simple: Think like a firefighter. Firefighters always make life safety their top priority. We don’t begin fighting a fire until life safety is secured or ensured (by the firefighting operation). When a fire occurs, get everyone out of the house. Once all lives are secure and a person who has training, experience, and is confident in their ability to use a fire extinguisher decides they can take on the fire, they may certainly do so.

“Because the starting point should be from outside the home, the extinguisher should be kept near a door. When the person intent on using it steps in the door and picks it up, they now have their escape route at their back (a firefighter would never let the fire get between them and their escape route). Obviously, the fire has had time to grow and create smoke (the deadly part of a fire) so the situation is far more dangerous now. We do not recommend people ever re-enter a building they’ve already escaped due to fire.

“The major problem with fire extinguishers is that the majority of people have never used them. To encounter an emergency and then try to do something about it that you’ve not practiced nor are confident with is a recipe for disaster.

“Some fires are discovered when very small. When fire can be confined to the vessel of origin (a pan, trash can, etc.), it can be quite easy to extinguish. However, the method can be much simpler. A tight fitting lid or even a cutting board can be slid over the top of a pan of burning grease or liquid and easily extinguish a stove top fire. Burning food in an oven can be contained in the oven by keeping the door closed and turning off the heat. Even a trash can (metal) can be covered to contain a fire (plastic or wicker won’t work so well with this strategy). But when fire escapes these vessels, it becomes a very different creature and extinguishment by an untrained person with a fire extinguisher is a long shot. Sometimes the effort can actually make the situation worse by knocking burning pans off the stove or delaying a call to 9-1-1.

“… In short, be prepared to contain a fire to the vessel of origin (like a pan using the lid). Otherwise, life safety should be your priority. Get everyone out of the house, call 9-1-1, and only fight the fire if you are trained, practiced, and confident in the fire extinguisher that is near the exterior doors of your home. But even that is very risky. The best strategy is an early call to the Fire Department and keeping you and your family safe.”

As far as inspecting any fire extinguishers you do have in your home, here’s what Mr. Porth has to say:

“(Fire extinguishers) are not required to be inspected but like anything you might expect to use in an emergency, you cannot ignore it or take it for granted. Extinguishers should be picked up and turned upside down a couple of times every few months to ensure the dry chemical inside has not packed or caked in the unit. Check the nozzle to see if any powder is in it. If so, it may have a leaky valve or it was used previously and may not work when needed. If it has a gauge, tap it with your finger in case it is stuck and see that the needle remains pointing at the “charged” indicator in the gauge. If the condition of the unit is in doubt, dispose of it and replace it if you feel you need to. Metro considers the contents of an extinguisher to be a hazardous waste so they need to be disposed of at a local metro transfer/recycling center or taken to a recycling station during the annual haz waste clean up days. For details, contact Metro at 503-234-3000. You may also be able to contact a local fire extinguisher sales/service company for disposal options.”

How has your family prepared for fires and other potential emergencies?

What do you think are the most important things we can all do to prepare for natural and human-caused disasters?

Family Fire Safety (Part 1 of 2)

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:00:48 +0000

Like most of the parents I know, the recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear fiasco in Japan got me thinking, once again, about how prepared my family is for emergencies. The answer? Not very. I created a disaster kit several years ago (after 9/11), but I’ve done little to keep it updated. (Expired canned goods anyone?) Plus, it’s in the basement and quite bulky, so it’s not really portable and probably wouldn’t be accessible if there’s serious damage to our home.

I now realize it’s not feasible for me to keep everything we’ll need in any given emergency available and accessible, so I’ve decided to focus on the things we CAN do to prepare. Besides the minimum “supplies” – water, flashlights, blankets and a crank-powered radio – that means putting our energy into education.

Here at Metro Parent, we’re working on a series of safety articles for our June issue that will include information on emergency preparedness. In the meantime, I decided to begin my own family’s education by learning more about fire prevention and safety.

I began my research online, at the City of Portland Fire and Rescue website. Their “Top 10 Safety Tips” provided an ideal outline for my family’s fire safety lessons. One in particular, “Develop a home fire escape plan and practice it” had been on our to-do list for years, though we haven’t gotten around to actually practicing. This coming weekend, we’re planning to remedy that by showing our son how to remove the screen from his window and climb out (which, of course, I know he’ll love and probably want to practiced over and over) and taking turns attaching the expandable ladder in our attic to the window frame and climbing down. I’m kind of scared to climb down the ladder from the second story, but I know it will be better to practice it once or twice now rather than trying to do it for the first time in the midst of a house fire!

The PFR website also provides information about smoke alarms and other fire and general safety topics, including an interesting list of FAQs. Did you know PF&R has smoke alarms available to senior citizens, low income families and people with disabilities? (Call the smoke alarm hotline at 503-823-3752 for details.) You can even get your blood pressure checked at any fire station as long is crew is available. (You might want to call first to make sure it’s a good time.)

(Sadly, they won’t fill your swimming pool! Now, can anyone tell me why that’s a frequently asked question, especially here in Portland?)

…TO BE CONTINUED: Next week I’ll share what I learned from Portland Fire & Rescue about home fire extinguishers, and you’ll probably as surprised as I was by the information!

Does your family have a fire escape plan?
Have you practiced family fire drills?

Spring Break Fun … and Safety

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:00:40 +0000

Just like our kids — and probably yours, too — we’ve got Spring Break on the brain! If you’re as excited as we are about the upcoming week off of school, check out our Spring Break Fun Guide with loads of activities you can share with your kids.

But if you’re one of the many local parents who has to work that week, we’ve got some ideas for you, too. Our online Guide also details local camps and classes, and in one of this month’s online articles – Spring Break: Keeping Kids Active and Safe – the Oregon Partnership offers some ideas for keeping kids engaged in appropriate activities whether you’ll be home with them or not.

We hope you’ll find these online resources helpful!

What are your plans for Spring Break?

Toy Safety Report Released

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:00:37 +0000

The Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) recently released its 24th annual survey of toy safety, ominously titled, “Trouble in Toyland.” We find the report especially noteworthy this year, after the seemingly endless onslaught of toy recalls we’ve seen over the past few years. The 2009 report looked into the issues of choking hazards, excessive noise, and lead and phthalates in toys. In addition to naming specific products that pose safety hazards, the report offers some solid guidelines to keep in mind when purchasing toys for small children, but the bottom line is, parents need to be vigilant. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) doesn’t test every toy on the market, and some toys you find on the shelves do not meet CPSC standards.

To make safe toy buying easier, The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) has created an interactive website where parents can sign up to receive alerts about potentially dangerous toys, learn more about choosing safe toys, and share their own information about unsafe toys. Check it out at http://www.uspirg.org/issues/toy-safety.

To download the complete 2009 Trouble in Toyland report, visit http://bit.ly/797yeS.