Severe Weather Awareness Week (Feb. 6 - 10)

 Photo courtesy of NASA

The weather has been relatively mild this week, but you never know what is around the corner. Which is why Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared next week (Feb. 6 – 10) Severe Weather Awareness Week across the state. Throughout the week, Georgians are asked to think about their own preparedness and safety during severe weather.

The week kicks off on Monday, Feb. 6 with Family Preparedness Day. On this day, each household is asked to get a weather radio and program it to their specific county. These radios will keep families more aware of severe weather so that they will be able to prepare their homes, ensuring their safety during storms. The rest of the week will also focus on thunderstorm, tornado, lightning and flood safety.

The American Red Cross East Georgia Chapter is here to help you and your families remain safe during storms and will be here in the aftermath. Stay tuned to our blog, Facebook and Twitter to receive more updates about the informative week.

- Amanda Keuler

Twelve Days of Safety

As you celebrate the holidays and prepare for the new year ahead, take the following tips into account during the Twelve Days of Safety to keep this season safe, happy and bright! 

Ready-to-go Emergency Preparedness Kit

1. Prepare vehicle for traveling to grandmother’s house. Build an emergency kit and include items such as blankets or sleeping bags, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, compass and road maps, shovel, tire repair kit and pump, extra clothing, flares, and a tow rope.

2. Drive the sleigh and reindeer safely. Avoid driving in a storm. If travel is a must, let someone know the destination, the route being taken to get there, and how long it should take to arrive. If the car gets stuck along the way, help can be sent along the predetermined route.

3. Help prevent the spread of the flu. Stay home if sick. Wash hands with soap and water as often as possible, or use an alcohol-based hand rub. Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and throw the tissue away after use. If a tissue isn’t available, someone should cough or sneeze into their elbow, not their hands.

4. Follow Santa’s fashion lead – dress in layers. When it’s cold outside, layered lightweight clothing will keep a person warmer than a single heavy coat. Gloves and a hat will prevent loss of body heat.

5. Use a Red Cross-trained babysitter when attending holiday festivities. Red Cross-certified babysitters learn to administer basic first aid; properly hold and feed a child; take emergency action when needed and monitor safe play. Some may be certified in Infant and Child CPR.

6. Avoid danger while roasting chestnuts on an open fire. Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If leaving the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove. This is important because unattended cooking causes nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires.

7. Be a lifesaver during the holidays. The Red Cross recommends at least one person in every household should take first aid and CPR/AED training. Visit www.redcross.org/training for details and to register.

8. Designate a driver or skip the holiday cheer. Buckle up, slow down, and don’t drive impaired. If someone plans on drinking, designate a driver who won’t drink.

9. When the weather outside is frightful, heat the home safely. Never use a stove or oven to heat the home. Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Install smoke alarms.

10. Cut down on heating bills without being a Grinch. Get the furnace cleaned and change the filters. Make sure furniture isn’t blocking the heat vents. Close off any rooms not in use and turn off the heat in those rooms. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

11. Home for the holidays? Travel safely. Check the tire air pressure and make sure the windshield fluid is full. Be well rested and alert. Give full attention to the road – avoid distractions such as cell phones. If someone has car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible.

12. Resolve to Be Red Cross Ready in the New Year. Get ready now in case someone in the household faces an emergency in 2012.

Be Red Cross Ready for Fire in the Kitchen

The most effective way to protect yourself and your home from fire is to identify and remove fire hazards.  Sixty-five percent of home fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms.  During a home fire, working smoke alarms and a fire escape plan that has been practiced regularly can save lives.

It has been found that most fires originate in the kitchen.  Follow these steps to avoid a fire while cooking.  Start by not wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking.  Never leave cooking food unattended – stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food.  If you must leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

A stove after a house fire.

Fire Safety Tips for the Kitchen:

• Check your food regularly while cooking and remain in the home while cooking.  Use a timer to remind yourself that the stove or oven is on.

• Keep the kids away from the cooking area. Enforce a “kid-free zone” and make them stay at least three feet away from the stove.

• Keep anything that can catch fire – pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, and towels or curtains—away from your stove, oven or any other appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.

• Clean cooking surfaces on a regular basis to prevent grease buildup.

• Consider purchasing a fire extinguisher to keep in your kitchen.  Contact your local fire department to take training on the proper use of extinguishers.

• Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving the home to make sure all the stoves, ovens and small appliances are turned off.

• Install a smoke alarm near your kitchen, on each level of your home, near sleeping areas inside and outside bedrooms if you sleep with doors closed.  Use the test button to check it each month.  Replace all batteries at least once per year.

The Red Cross responded to more than 62,960 home fires during the 2011 fiscal year. House fires are the worst disaster threat to families in the United States. To learn how to prevent a fire in your home and how to keep members of your household safe, you can download The Red Cross Fire Prevention and Safety Checklist.  Downloadable fact sheets are also available at http://www.redcross.org/ on how to be fire safe over the holidays, how to avoid home heating fires, candle safety, proper use of smoke alarms and teaching your children what to do in the event of a fire. 

Here Comes the Heat: Get Prepared with Red Cross Safety Tips

If you haven't already, get prepared to endure the sweltering heat of Georgia summers!

According to the National Weather Service, extreme heat was the number one weather-related killer of 2010, which caused more fatalities than floods, lightening, tornadoes, hurricanes, winter storms and extreme cold.

The American Red Cross East Georgia Chapter encourages everyone to take precautions to avoid any tragedies caused by our scorching Georgia heat.

Simple measures can be taken to protect yourself and your families from heat related incidents.

Follow these Red Cross safety tips:

• Dress for the heat. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflect away some of the sun's energy. It is also a good idea to wear hats or use an umbrella.
• Drink water. Carry water or juice with you and drink continuously even if you do not feel thirsty.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which dehydrate the body. Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
• Eat small meals and eat more often. Avoid high-protein foods, which increase metabolic heat.
• Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4 and 7 a.m.
• Stay indoors when possible. If air-conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor out of the sunshine. Remember that electric fans do not cool, they simply circulate the air.
• Be a good neighbor. During heat waves, check in on elderly residents in your neighborhood and those who do not have air conditioning.
• Learn Red Cross first aid and CPR. Click here for classes being offered at the East Georgia Chapter.

Prepare yourself for a safe summer in the sun!