Bottom Line: Tapping into Virtual Technology to Reduce Home Injuries

By Meri-K Appy
October 2007

One need only look at the 2008 Presidential campaign to appreciate the power and potential the Internet has to provoke thought and inspire action among varied audiences. In politics, socializing and beyond, uploading sites like YouTube and virtual worlds such as Second Life and The Sims are fast changing the way people of every age communicate, play and learn.

Whether or not you personally are a fan of computer-simulated games, virtual environments or online social interaction (yet!), surely you will agree that the Internet also presents one of the most important media that fire and life safety educators can utilize to support community injury prevention outreach.

The Home Safety Council is tapping into this vast electronic well of educational opportunity to help us reach more parents and other adults with vital messages about home safety and disaster preparedness. We’ve just announced the first phase of MySafeHome.org, an innovative home injury prevention teaching tool that can be used independently or incorporated into your safety educational outreach to high school and older audiences.

Navigating Home Safety

Using state-of-the-art digital motion graphics animation in a navigable virtual house and yard, MySafeHome.org brings comprehensive home safety to life for any adult who has access to a computer. HSC’s new program – which is accessed on demand and at no cost to the user – makes it simple and interesting to tour a typical house from the point of view of enhanced safety.

We focus primarily on the top five causes of unintentional injury in and around the home: falls, poisoning, fires and burns, choking/suffocation, and drowning; and the need for family disaster preparedness. The site helps users identify major risk areas room by room, indoors and out, and presents the key safety devices and preparedness plans that every safe home should have.

Throughout MySafeHome.org, we share valuable injury prevention and disaster preparedness tips. Users can go at their own pace, repeating sections of interest or skipping those that don’t apply. The site provides top-line messaging and offers direct links to more detailed information for users who want to learn more.

October: Fire Safety Month

The initial phase of MySafeHome.org highlights home fire safety and is funded in part through generous support from the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA). With a focus on fire safety, including special animation highlighting the benefits of a home fire sprinkler system, the virtual house is an ideal way to enhance your Fire Safety Month educational activities.

MySafeHome.org makes it possible to virtually walk members of your community through an ideal house. With engaging motion graphics, your audience will hear and see the simple steps they can take to prevent the common, yet often unrecognized, injury risks, as well ways to prepare for emergencies. You might utilize MySafeHome.org in a presentation to a civic group or simply make it available to parents via a computer station during open houses.

For more ideas, sign up to participate in HSC’s free Fire Safety Month Webinar taking place October 17, 2007: Fire Safety – from Research to Practice. Join us to preview recent HSC research showing that there is still much room for improvement in the public's fire safety practices. We will also highlight a few of the Home Safety Council’s programs that are available for use in your local fire safety education practice, including MySafeHome.org and the All-Ways Fire Safe at Home Toolbox. Make plans now to attend and learn the most effective ways of leveraging the new research findings and implementing the tools available to help keep those in your community safe from fire. Members of the Expert Network will receive an email announcing the October Webinar date and providing additional suggestions for using MySafeHome.org in your Fire Safety Month activities.