LIFE AND SAFETY: DIFFERENT ENDINGS
Fires. About 4,700 people die each year because of fires-the majority of which are avoidable, says Susan McKelvey, public affairs manager of the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Massachusetts. “Taking basic safety precautions greatly reduces the risk of fire,” McKelvey says. “Cigarettes should be extinguished with water; smoking carelessly is the leading cause of fire death in the United States. Don’t leave the kitchen when you’re cooking; cooking is the leading cause of fires. And it’s recommended that you have at least one smoke detector on every level of your home as well as in or near all sleeping areas,” she says. Simple steps like these can significantly improve your safety from fire.
Choking. About 1,500 people every year die when they accidentally inhale a bit of food or a foreign object and it becomes lodged in their windpipes. Dr. Thygerson recommends that everyone know how to perform abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich maneuver). For a conscious victim, wrap your arms around the victim’s waist from behind. Make a fist with one hand, and place the thumb side just above the victim’s navel. Grasp that fist with your other hand and press it up and into the victim’s abdomen until whatever is blocking the airway is expelled. You can perform this on yourself, says Dr. Thygerson, by pressing the abdomen (slightly above the navel) quickly over any firm surface, such as the back of a chair, side of a table, or porch railing.
Firearms. Unintentional shootings claim about 1,500 lives each year. And men are almost six times more likely to die at the smoky end of a misfired gun than women. If you have a gun at home, be sure that you and everyone in the house know firearm safety. Keep bullets and guns safely locked away, preferably in different places, says Michael Taylor, manager of the community safety division at the National Safety Council.
Poisonings – gases and vapors. If you don’t have a carbon monoxide detector on each level of your house, you should, says Taylor. Four hundred people each year die from being exposed to poisonous gases and vapors, in particular, carbon monoxide. Cooking and heating equipment as well as idling motor vehicles are major sources of this colorless, odorless, lethal gas.
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