Home Safety

What you can do to keep you and your family safe at home?

Keeping your family out of harm’s way is your Number 1 priority. Unfortunately, many of our homes can be dangerous – preventable injuries and deaths continue to rise in homes and communities.

The Council estimates everyday approximately 245 people die of unintentional injuries in homes and communities. In 2007, the six leading causes of unintentional injury death in the U.S. were:

When someone is injured, the effects go beyond that person and extend to family members, friends, neighbors, employers and communities. The key to preventing injuries is making simple changes to your lifestyle - recognizing where most hazards are and how injuries can occur when participating in different activities.

Below are a few of the many strategies to prevent injuries:

  • Stay off your cell phone when you are driving. Your safety practices directly influence the safety practices of your children.
  • Get trained in first aid, CPR and AED.
  • Check and if necessary, change the batteries on your smoke and carbon monoxide detector.
  • Properly dispose of unused and expired medications.

Share these strategies with family, friends and neighbors. Explore more safety practices in the new safety at home sections including, home and recreational safety, motor vehicle safety, emergency preparedness, and family safety training. You can play a large part in keeping those around safe and alive.


Fire Safety



According to the National Fire Prevention Association, an estimated 355,400 reported home structure fires are reported annually -- and 2,560 associated civilian fire deaths occur in the United States each year.


Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as two minutes to escape safely once the alarm sounds. Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes.  Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors. Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm. For easy planning, download NFPA's escape planning grid. This is a great way to get children involved in fire safety in a non-threatening way.

Your ability to get out depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning.


Additional Home Safety Resources: