Keeping Safe at Home – Fire Prevention Week

Safety is such a critical element to success in business. There is a specific discipline to implementing safe practices – preparation, orderliness, organization, etc., so that an organization that prioritizes safety is bound to be a better run organization.

Most people, in the possible interest of saving time, take short cuts with various tasks we do each day. By imparting discipline in the workplace, especially in high risk areas, we create the expectation that short cuts at the expense of risking injury are not acceptable and doing so is a direct violation of policies.

At Austin, we have a policy that every meeting involving four or more people should be started with a safety tip, and anyone in attendance at the meeting may be called upon to give the tip. Interestingly, many tips come from personal experiences at the home. People tend to be more complacent at home; not reaching for the safety glasses when picking up a hammer to hang a picture, not wearing ear protection when cutting the grass, or not wearing long pants and work shoes when working in the yard.

In fact, the more we stress workplace safety and the more success we have at it, the more apparent the dangers in the home appear due the complacency mentioned above. We believe that almost every accident is preventable – at work, at home and elsewhere, given proper attention to safe practices. It is our individual responsibility to monitor our own safety and the safety of those around us, no matter where we are at.

This year, National Fire Prevention Week is October 6-12. The National Fire Protection Association chose “Kitchen Fires: Get Cookin’ With Fire Safety” as this year’s theme. The goal is to call attention to the fact that more fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home. Additionally, cooking is the leading cause of home fire injuries. If you and your family don’t follow safe cooking practices, the kitchen can be one of the most dangerous rooms in the house.