Home Safety Council and All Lowe's Stores to Host 'Safety Saturday'

Home Safety Council and All Lowe's Stores to Host 'Safety Saturday'

Local Events to Offer Free, Educational Activities to Make Homes Safer, Avoid Accidents

MOORESVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Home Safety Council (HSC) and Lowe's kickoff Fire Safety Month with Safety Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Sept. 25 to teach families how to prevent accidents in the home. The home is the second most common location of unintentional fatal injuries in the United States, accounting for approximately 20 percent of all injury deaths. The five leading causes of unintentional home injury deaths are falls, poisoning, fire/burn injuries, choking/suffocation, and drowning. Together, these causes account for 90 percent of all unintentional home injury deaths, according to the Home Safety Council.

At 10 a.m. on Sept. 25, every Lowe's store across the United States, Canada and Mexico will offer a Build and Grow clinic focused on home safety that will allow children to build a wooden fire truck to take home. Children also will receive educational materials created by the Home Safety Council, providing a fun, exciting and creative way to learn about home and fire safety. To sign-up for the fire truck Build and Grow clinic at a local store, visit Lowesbuildandgrow.com.

In addition to Build and Grow activities, many Lowe's stores will host safety fairs in the parking lot to serve as a one-stop resource for home safety ideas and project starters to help rid homes of hidden dangers. Visitors can ask local safety experts questions about home safety products and receive valuable home safety advice to help keep their families safe from fires, burns and other home injuries.

In celebration of Safety Saturday, the Home Safety Council and Lowe's encourage families to identify and fix home hazards. Follow the "Top 5 Home Safety Projects and Tips" to help ensure a safe home year round.

Prevent Falls

Falls are the leading cause of home injury and injury-related deaths in the U.S., accounting for 33 percent of fatalities.

    --  Install grab bars in the tub and shower. Use non-slip mats.
    --  Put bright lights over stairs and on landings. Keep stairs clear of
        clutter.
    --  For homes with children, use safety gates at the top and bottom of
        stairs, and have window guards on upstairs windows.

Prevent Poisonings

Unintentional poisoning is the second-leading cause of unintentional home injury deaths in the U.S., with an average of 4,833 deaths annually.

    --  Keep cleaners, medications and beauty products in a place where children
        can't reach them. Use child safety locks.
    --  For information or help with a poisoning, call 1-800-222-1222. Call
        9-1-1 if someone needs to go to the hospital right away.

Prevent Fires and Burns

An average of 3,402 persons die each year as a result of a residential fire or burn injury, and 261,326 nonfatal fire and burn injuries occur in the home every year.

    --  Install working smoke alarms and hold fire drills. If you build a new
        home, install fire sprinklers.
    --  Make sure second- and third- story emergency exits have fire escape
        ladders.
    --  Stay by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food. Use
        back burners and turn pot handles toward the back of your stove.
    --  Keep hot water below 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent burns.
    --  Install special tub spouts and showerheads that prevent hot water burns.
        These products will shut off the flow of water when it gets hot enough
        to cause a burn.

Prevent Choking/Suffocation

Unintentional obstructed airway injuries are the fourth leading cause of unintentional home injury deaths in the U.S. and result in an average of 1,092 fatalities each year. Children under age 5 are at greatest risk of obstructed airway injuries.

    --  Objects that can fit through a toilet paper tube can cause a young child
        to choke. Keep coins, latex balloons and hard round foods, such as
        peanuts and hard candy, where children cannot see or touch them.
    --  Place babies to sleep on their backs, alone in their crib. Don't put
        pillows, blankets, comforters or toys in cribs. These items can prevent
        a baby from breathing.
    --  When your children are in or near water, including bathtubs, toilets,
        pools and spas - even buckets of water, watch them very carefully. Stay
        close enough to reach out and touch them.
    --  Keep bathroom doors closed. Use an outside lock or a doorknob cover to
        keep young children out of the bathrooms when you are not with them.
    --  Use toilet seat locks and keep toilet lids shut.

Prepare for an Emergency

Every family needs to know what to do in an emergency situation and taking steps to prepare ahead of time can save lives.

    --  Disasters might happen in the area where you live.
    --  Create a family communications plan.
    --  Assemble ready-to-go and ready-to-stay kits. Use the Home Safety
        Council's Disaster Preparedness Checklist for more information.

In 1993, Lowe's founded the Home Safety Council with the vision of creating safer American homes. The Home Safety Council became an independent, nonprofit organization in 2003, and Lowe's continues to support the organization's mission through the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation.

For more tips on how to make your home safer, one Saturday project at a time, visit homesafetycouncil.org/SafetySaturday.

About the Home Safety Council

The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home-related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes. The Home Safety Council is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC.

About Lowe's

With fiscal year 2009 sales of $47.2 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE(R) 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,700 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.


    Source: Lowe's Companies, Inc.