5 Safety Tips to adopt for 2022
- Make a Plan: Develop a plan for home and work which outlines your strategy for responding to and recovering from emergencies. Make sure the plan includes contingencies:
- How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
- What is my shelter-in-place plan?
- What is my evacuation route?
- What are my family/household and workplace communications plans?
- Hold regular safety drills so family members or workers know exactly what they should do if a natural or man-made disaster strikes.
- Assemble a kit: This has probably been on your “To Do” list for years. Make 2022 the year you follow through!
- Building an emergency kit doesn’t have to happen all at once.
- Keep things simple and affordable by picking up one item for your emergency kit each time you’re at the grocery store.
- Test your fire extinguishers and your smoke detector alarms regularly.
- Over the first few months of the year, buy canned food, bottled water, a battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries, etc. For a complete list of basic disaster supplies, click here.
- Be safe at home: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that two-thirds of home fire deaths happen in houses without smoke alarms or with non-operational smoke alarms. Set a monthly reminder on your calendar to test your smoke alarms. Check for functionality by pushing the test button. What’s more, replace smoke alarms 10 years from date of manufacture. But fire is far from the only disaster which could strike while you are at home. Here are more home safety tips to note:
- Get to know your neighbors.
- Lock your doors.
- Come up with an emergency plan.
- Consider investing in an alarm system.
- Turn on exterior lights and close blinds, shades and shutters.
- Buy a dog.
- Never leave a spare key outside.
- Take a self-defense class.
- Arrange a “check-in-plan” with family members in case you become separated during or after a disaster.
- Be safe at work. Accidents and emergency situations can happen in any environment, in any industry, at any time. While workplaces are often protected by devoted police officers, security professionals and/or efficient alarm systems, individuals must also take an active role in maintaining a safe work environment:
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- Develop and communicate health and safety procedures to employees.
- Conduct regular health and safety meetings for employees at all levels.
- Recognize employees for health and safety-related work practices.
- Be informed. Before you can take steps to be safe, you need to make sure you are armed with all relevant information:
- Understand the types of disasters most likely to impact your area.
- Sign up for emergency alerts.
- Decide where you would go if you had to evacuate.