Home Safety Checklist

The safety of your loved ones is more important than any material possession. Please take some time to go through the following checklist so that you can be well prepared for any emergency situation. As the old saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”

Make a mental list of all the rooms in your home, and work your way through them ensuring that you´ve eliminated potential accidents, prepared emergency procedures and are ready for any eventuality.

1. Protect your perimeter as it is your first line of defense.

Make sure your perimeter of your property has Razor Spike installed on it as this is your first line of defense. If intruders can gain access to your property no alarm will save you. Stop intruders from gaining access to your wall. This will stop criminals from getting into the property to tamper with doors and alarm systems. Your second line of defense should be beams connected into your alarm system and lastly you should have a good alarm system with zones and an audible alarm which is connected to your armed response.

2. Electricity

Fuse boxes, overloaded power points and appliances in bathrooms are just a few of the possible hazards that you´ll need to look out for on your home safety checklist. Baby proofing plugs and cables is an obvious decision if you have small children, but also a great idea if you have pets.

Be sure to have any electrical faults in your home, such as faulty lights or plugs, seen to by a professional as bad wiring poses massive fire risks – thatch roof home owners – be extra cautious.

3. Make a Neighbour a Friend

If you have any friends in your street or neighbourhood that you can trust, give them a copy of your key and put their phone number on your list of emergency numbers. If you already have a neighbour looking after a spare key, it´s also a good idea to ask them to double check that your key is in a safe place.

4. Teach Your Children

Spend some time showing your children how to use the telephone and where to locate the list of emergency numbers. Explain each emergency number to them and make sure that they know the best procedure for any crisis situation.

Children can easily be misled by strangers. Allocate a “trust word” and give this word to an adult as a form of a password to let the children know that you gave them permission to trust the stranger in an emergency.

5. First Aid Kit

A first aid kit can be used for treating a grazed knee, or mean the difference between life and death. It´s fundamentally important that your household, workplace and car have a first aid kit on hand.

Make sure that your first aid kit includes the following:

  • Antiseptic liquid
  • Cotton swabs
  • Cotton wool
  • Gauze
  • Scissors
  • Safety pins
  • Bandages
  • Latex gloves
  • CPR mouth piece
  • Plasters
  • Tweezers
  • Thermometer
  • Antihistamine Cream

 

Your first aid kit should also include information on CPR, the Heimlich Manoeuvre and emergency telephone numbers.

6. Inside and Out

The garden and surrounding areas of your home are potentially riddled with hazards. In your garage or garden shed, make sure that all flammable liquids and gasses are properly sealed and stored away. Oil spills or leaky canisters can have disastrous effects with the smallest of spark or flame.

If you´ve got children or pets, the use of a pool cover and a fence around the perimeter are a good idea to secure loved ones.

Home safety is an essential part of life as we know it. The old adage is true – it really is better to be safe than sorry.