Fall Yard Work Safety News Items

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For more information, contact: (Your PIO’s Name and Telephone Number)

Cleaning Up After a Storm? Follow These Safety Tips

The (Your Fire Department) is teaming up with the nonprofit Home Safety Council to reduce injuries caused when cleaning up after storms. Follow this simple advice to help your family stay safer when working outdoors:

• Never approach a downed electrical wire; keep children and pets clear. Call the power company to report downed wires.
• Keep children well away from the area where adults are using power tools and equipment.
• Never allow children to play on or ride on mowing tractors.
• Store pesticides and all lawn products in original packaging on high shelves or inside locked cabinets.
• Store ladders, rakes, forks, clippers and other tools properly; return them to storage after use.
• Wear work boots, gloves and eye protection when using chain saws, clippers and other powerful tools. Stay focused on the job.
• Refuel gasoline-powered tools outside, when the motor is cool, and well away from lit cigarettes, sparks and flames.
• Use gasoline as a motor fuel only; store gasoline in an approved container, up high.

To learn more about preventing injuries at home, visit the Home Safety Council at www.homesafetycouncil.org.

Keep Safety in Mind when Tackling Garage Clean-Up

According to the nonprofit Home Safety Council, household chemicals caused more than 45,000 emergency room visits in the latest year studied. The (Your Fire Department) urges (Your Town/City) residents to properly secure all chemicals, cleaners, fuels and other dangerous products stored in the garage. Wear gloves and eye protection when moving or using these products. Pesticides are especially dangerous. Keep products tightly sealed; use child-resistant caps and place products out of children’s reach. Do not transfer products to other containers and always keep the original label fastened. In a suspected poisoning, you will need the label information to help the victim. Post the national Poison Control Hotline by every telephone: 1-800-222-1222. To learn more about preventing poisoning at home, visit the Home Safety Council at www.homesafetycouncil.org.

Cleaning Out Rain Gutters? Use a Safety Ladder to Avoid a Fall

Did you know that more people die from falls than any other cause of unintentional home injury? That’s according to the nonprofit Home Safety Council. The (Your Fire Department) is urging (Your Town/City) residents to take care this fall when cleaning rain gutters and doing other fall clean-up jobs. Follow these Home Safety Council recommendations to climb safely:

• Always use a step ladder or safety ladder when climbing.
• Open the ladder fully and place on level ground.
• Wear slip-resistant shoes and make sure rungs are dry.

Learn more about safe ladder use and other fall prevention tips by visiting www.homesafetycouncil.org.

Ladder Safety Steps

Proper use of a safety ladder or step ladder can reduce your risk of a fall at home. The (Your Fire Department) urges residents to follow the nonprofit Home Safety Council’s safe steps for ladder use:

• Before using a ladder outdoors, choose a location that is well away from all power lines. Coming in contact with live wires can be fatal.
• Place the ladder on level ground and open it completely, making sure all locks are engaged.
• Use the 4-to-1 rule for extension ladders: for each 4 feet of distance between the ground and the upper point of contact (such as the wall or roof), move the base of the ladder out 1 foot.
• Always face the ladder when climbing and wear slip-resistant shoes, such as those with rubber soles.
• Keep your body centered on the ladder and gauge your safety by your belt buckle. If your buckle passes beyond the ladder rail, you are overreaching and at risk for falling.
• Make sure rungs are dry before using the ladder.
• Stand at or below the highest safe standing level on a ladder. For a stepladder, the safe standing level is the second rung from the top, and for an extension ladder, it's the fourth rung from the top.

To learn more about preventing falls and other home injuries, visit the Home Safety Council at www.homesafetycouncil.org.