Thanksgiving & Holiday Safety tips

UL offers Thanksgiving safety tips

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Northbrook, IL-based Underwriters Laboratories is reminding families to keep safety on the menu. 

To help prevent Thanksgiving fires and injuries, UL recommends:

• Do not overload the stovetop with too many pots and pans, and keep the area free of clutter.
• Never hold a child while cooking. If possible, keep children out of the kitchen while cooking.
• Never put a glass casserole dish on the stove or over a burner, as it could cause the container to explode.
• Consider avoiding the use of turkey fryers because they pose a number of safety hazards.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
• Remove lids from pots and pans by tilting them away from you to avoid hot steam.
• Ensure shirt sleeves are short, fitted or tightly rolled when cooking.
• If a small fire starts in a pan, grab a flame-resistant potholder and smother the fire with a lid. Do not remove the lid until the pan has cooled.
• Remain in the kitchen while cooking. If you must leave the room briefly, carry an oven mitt with you to remind you that food is cooking.

 

Holidays call for ladder safety reminders for workers

The risk of ladder falls can increase during the holiday season when workers are charged with hanging and removing holiday decorations, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries cautioned this week.

Washington L&I reminds workers of the following ladder safety tips:

• Carefully inspect the ladder for defects, cracks and corrosion before use. Tag and remove from service any ladders deemed unsafe.
• Make sure the ladder's feet have slip-resistant pads.
• Use a fiberglass ladder around electricity.
• When setting up a ladder, look for a location with firm, level footing and a rigid support for the top of the ladder.
• Always use three-point contact when climbing a ladder. Either both hands and one foot or both feet and one hand should be in contact with the ladder at all times.
• Never carry a load that could cause you to lose your balance.
• Never stand on the top of a ladder.
• Do not pull, stretch or make sudden movements that could cause a ladder to tip.
• Avoid placing ladders near doorways, pedestrian walkways or vehicular traffic.