Welcoming Holiday Guests Opens the Door to New Home Injury Risks

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As the holiday countdown begins, many families are busy planning menus for festive feasts and preparing their homes for holiday guests. In fact, a recent study by the national nonprofit Home Safety Council found that more than 40 percent of adults plan to host friends and relatives in their homes this winter season. The Home Safety Council is offering tips and advice to help families ensure safe and happy holiday visits.

"Opening our homes to holiday visitors is a wonderful way to show friends and family how much we care. Along with the pleasures of cooking meals and preparing a festive home environment, we're also responsible for keeping our guests safe," said Meri-K Appy, Home Safety Council president. "By taking a few simple safety steps before guests arrive, hosts can help ensure everyone's holiday meals and visits are happy and injury-free."

"Get a Taste" for Safety

According to the Home Safety Council's new survey, nearly two-thirds of adults (65 percent) plan to cook holiday meals this winter season. While seasonal treats bring smiles to the table, they also serve up potential fire and burn injury risks. To keep accidents out of your kitchen this holiday season, the Home Safety Council suggests taking the following steps:

    -- Always stay in the kitchen while cooking on the range, especially when
       frying food.
    -- Keep things that can burn, such as dishtowels, paper or plastic bags,
       and curtains at least three feet away from the range top.
    -- Keep grease from building up on the range top, toaster oven and in the
       oven.
    -- Before cooking, roll up sleeves. Loose-fitting clothes can touch a hot
       burner and catch on fire. If clothes do catch fire, "Stop, Drop and
       Roll" by dropping immediately to the ground and rolling over and over
       or back and forth to put out the flames. Cool the burned area with cool
       water and seek medical attention for serious burns.
    -- Wear full-length oven mitts to protect your skin from burns.
    -- Always turn pot handles toward the back of the range to prevent small
       children from reaching and pulling down a hot pan.
    -- Keep pans, hot beverages and trays that have just come out of the oven
       away from the edge of counters, so that children are not able to reach
       them.
    -- Hot liquid and food burns often occur when children pull hanging
       tablecloths or placemats. Use tablecloths and decorations with care.
    -- Food cooked in a microwave can be dangerously hot. Remove the lids or
       other coverings from microwaved food carefully to prevent steam burns.
       Always test microwaved food for heat before giving it to children.
    -- Keep children and pets away from the range when anyone is cooking and
       keep a close eye on them at all times.
    -- Electrical outlets in the kitchen should be protected by Ground-Fault
       Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs). If you don't have them, hire an
       electrician to install these devices to protect electrical receptacles
       near water.
    -- Store knives and other sharp objects out of the reach of children.

Don't Let Hazards Be an Uninvited Guest This Season

Whether relatives and friends stay for a short or an extended visit, it's important for families to take simple steps to make their homes safe, especially for young children and older adults -- the age groups most at risk for home injury.

The Home Safety Council recommends that hosts find and fix home hazards while they are preparing for the holidays. Once guests arrive, take time to review critical safety precautions and practices with them. The Home Safety Council offers the following advice:

    -- Check the lights over all stairways, hallways, porches and entries to
       ensure all bulbs are working and are bright enough to illuminate the
       entire area below. Stick to the maximum safe wattage, which is printed
       inside the fixture.
    -- If tubs and showers don't already have non-stick strips or mats in
       them, affix them now. Put sturdy grab bars inside the bath and shower
       area -- new models are attractive and easier to install.  Place
       nightlights inside bathrooms and in the hallways leading to them.
    -- If your guests will include toddlers, purchase safety gates and place
       them at the tops and bottoms of stairways.
    -- If you have an attached garage and/or fuel-burning heat or appliances,
       your home should have a carbon monoxide (CO) detector installed to
       protect sleeping areas.
    -- Post the local and national poison control hotline number, as well as
       other local emergency numbers, near every telephone. The National
       Poison Control Hotline is 1-800-222-1222.
    -- To keep curious children safe, make sure all matches and lighters,
       medications, household cleaners, toiletries and other dangerous
       products are locked in a cabinet. Keep products in original containers
       with child-proof closures intact. Remember to keep purses, backpacks
       and luggage out of children's reach too.
    -- Every home must have working smoke alarms on each level and protecting
       all the places people will be sleeping.
    -- Test every smoke alarm and replace any dead or missing batteries. If
       your alarms are ten years old or more, replace them.
    -- When guests arrive, walk through your home fire escape plan with them,
       pointing out primary and secondary exits and the outside meeting place.
    -- Prevent scalds by turning your water heater temperature to 120 degrees
       F or less.
    -- When toddlers are visiting, use toilet seat locks to prevent drowning.
       Be aware that buckets, spas, pools/ponds, tubs and all standing water
       are a serious drowning risk for very young children.
    -- Make guest rooms safe as well as welcoming. Place a nightlight inside
       each room and the hallway outside it. Provide each guest with a working
       flashlight. If possible, place a telephone in each guest room as well.

To learn more about how to keep friends and family safe in and around your home during the holidays, and year-round, visit www.homesafetycouncil.org.

About Home Safety Council

The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes. The Home Safety Council is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Washington, DC.

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