Author: carolyn
Protect Your Home From Electrical Fires
The cold weather and darkness this month have us turning on lights, heating and appliances. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, that may be why January is the leading month for electrical fires. Today’s electrical demands can overburden the electrical system in a home, especially homes more than 40 years old that have older wiring, electrical systems, and devices.
Protect yourself and your family by making sure all electrical work in your home is done by a qualified electrician and following these tips from USFA:
- Always plug major appliances–such as refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers–directly into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord with a major appliance.
- Unplug small appliances when you’re not using them.
- Keep lamps, light fixtures and light bulbs away from anything that can burn.
- Use light bulbs that match the recommended wattage on the lamp or fixture.
- Check electrical cords on appliances often. Replace cracked, damaged and loose electrical cords.
- Don’t overload wall outlets.
- Never force a three-prong cord into a two-slot outlet.
- Install tamper-resistant electrical outlets if you have young children.
- Use power strips that have internal overload protection.
Find more home fire prevention tips and information at USFA’s electrical fire safety outreach materials webpage: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/electrical.html.
Girl Scouts Learn to Lead With Fire Safety
This fall Prevention 1st trainers delivered the first sessions of the Leadership Development program in fire safety which they developed for the Girl Scouts of Western New York (GSWNY). Sessions held in Rochester and Buffalo, NY drew 34 Scout Cadets, from 6th-graders to 12th graders, eager to learn leadership and fire safety skills. They will each now present 3 training sessions with younger Daisy and/or Brownie troops.
“This is a chance to up their leadership skills and be role models for younger girls,” said Lauren Bush, Assistant Director of Girl Experience for GSWNY. “And fire safety is so important, it’s good for them to hear it from their peers. As leaders, as adults, we can tell kids these things about fire. But when they hear it from their slightly older peers, it really sticks.”
“They were so enthusiastic and committed to playing a role in their community,” said Bob Crandall, Prevention 1st trainer. “For that age group it was very impressive.”
The Prevention 1st training will count toward the senior Scouts’ leadership awards, and toward the younger Scouts’ play safe! be safe! Fire Safety Education patch. Training sessions were held on a day off from school, with some entire troops attending as well as individual girls interested in the training. The Rochester session was sponsored by the John F. Wegman Fund and the Buffalo session by Prevention 1st.
Molly Clifford taught the girls strategies for teaching younger children and presentation skills to keep their audience engaged and learning. Bob Crandall presented the specific fire safety skills they would need to teach the younger Scouts, drawn from the curriculum of the play safe! be safe! fire safety program. The girls then worked in small groups to develop and rehearse their own presentations.
“They came up with creative ways to be “hands on” with skills,” Crandall recalled, “like using newsprint to make “smoke” and then demonstrating the correct way to Stay Low and Go under smoke.”
Bush hopes that as the younger Scouts learn, they will later step up to do the same training for others:
“There’s no better way to show their leader skills. It’s a “pay it forward” skill.”
Prevention 1st November 2018 Newsletter
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Clocks Change Nov. 3: Get Ready to Practice Your Fire Drill!
If you assume you’d know what to do if a fire happens in your home, listen to the Oct. 13 podcast featuring Dr. Robert Cole, fire safety expert, on House Smarts on radio station WABC-AM (start at 26 minutes in).
Lou Manfredini, the show’s host, recalled a friend who had a fire on her stovetop: “Her initial reaction was to grab the pan and take it out of the house. All she did was spread the fire.”
When something unexpected happens like a fire, or the smoke alarm going off in the middle of the night, it can be hard to remember what to do.
“Without having thought things through, people can make the wrong choices,” said Dr. Cole. “We need to get people to think that a fire can happen to them, think about what they would do, and practice.”
His most important tips:
- Have working smoke alarms on every level of your home, and be sure everyone in the home can hear them.
- Everyone in your home needs to know what to do if the smoke alarm goes off, especially if that happens at night when people are asleep. It’s important to be able to get out quickly.
- You need to practice your home escape. First, to be sure everyone can do what they need to do to get out safely (especially important when young children, older adults, or people with disabilities are part of the household). And if they’ve actually practiced, then in an emergency they will have that memory of what they should do.
“The risk of fire is real, and these are reasonable things to do to prepare,” said Dr. Cole. “You don’t want to be the family that gets caught off guard.”
Prevention1st.org has many Safety Resources, especially for families with children, to help them understand the risks and stay safe from fire, including Homefiredrill.org, a website to help you plan and practice your escape.
Golf Tournament Raises $38,000+
The 2018 Jane and Larry Glazer Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit Prevention 1st raised more than $38,000 to support key injury prevention programs.
This year’s silent auction raised $455 for a new fund memorializing Stephen Rogoff, who along with Harvey Bunis conceived of, developed and co-chaired the Golf Tournament since its beginning in 2013. The inaugural Golf Tournament held in 2013 was Prevention 1st’s first major fund raiser.
Our thanks and congratulations to Jessica Holly and Michael Chatwin, who will co-chair next year’s event. Congratulations to our winning foursomes and outstanding golfers:
1st Place Men’s (60): Rick Glazer, Jeff Rubens, Jordan Morgenstern, Adrian Morgenstern
1st Place Mixed (76): Kevin Lillis, Shelly VanLare, Joan Updaw, Wendy Guinn
Closest to the Pin # 4 (Men): Matt Diberaradinis (3’ 4”)
Closest to the Pin # 4 (Women): Marie Michaels (40’ 00”)
Closest to the Line #7 (Men): Chris Wensley
Closest to the Line #7 (Women): Shelly VanLare
Thanks to all of our golfers and attendees, to Midvale Country Club for their outstanding service and support, to Abrams Fensterman for donation of tote bags and Buckingham Properties for donation of roadway multi-tool gifts for all golfers and attendees, Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak for donation of on-course snacks and beverages, Ralph Honda for sponsorship of the Hole in One Contest, Sage Rutty for golf cart sponsorship, and to our 2018 Golf Committee: Harvey Bunis, Jessica Holly, John Eilertsen, Michael Chatwin, Rick Glazer, Kristin Fulford, Sarabeth Rogoff, Scott Rogoff, and Joan Updaw.
Tournament Sponsors
Abrams Fensterman, LLPB
Buckingham Properties, LLC
Sage Rutty
Ralph Honda
Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC
Flag Sponsors
Cooley Group, Inc.
Cathy & Jack Dinaburg
Ernstrom & Dreste, LLP
Woods Oviatt Gilman, LLP
Community Health Strategies
Tee Sponsors
Abrams Fensterman, LLP
Barclay Damon, LLP
Bell Cornerstone
Browncroft Family Restaurant
Buckingham Properties, LLC
Harvey S. Bunis, Esq.
Canandaigua National Bank
Friends of Molly Clifford
Robert Cole & Daryl Sharp
Community Health Strategies
Developmental Disabilities Giving Circle
DJP Development LLC
CurAegis Technologies
Eagle Cleaners
EkoStinger
First American Title Insurance Company
Flaherty Salmin CPAs
The Glazer Family
Golf Weekly
Heritage Financial Services, LLC
Kevin & 3 Ladies
Kiwanis West Central
Al Mason, Photographer
Mengel Metzger Barr & Co, LLP
Thomas H. Neilans, Ph.D.
Palmer Food Services
Debbie & David Pelusio
Perlo’s Restaurant
Pickle Factory
PointClickCare
Ralph Honda
Senator Joe Robach
Rochester Area Community Foundation
Rochester Hardwood Floor
Heather & Brett Rogoff
Ruda Investment Group
Sage Rutty and Co.
Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC
Sign Design
Sharon P. Stiller
Trillium Health
Upstate Special Needs Planning
Webster Schubel Meier Elder Law
State Fire Marshals Learn How People With Disabilities Can Be ‘Safe at Home’
Prevention 1st’s “Safe at Home” individualized home safety program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) drew plenty of interest at the National Association of State Fire Marshals’ Annual Conference last month. People with intellectual disabilities are 4 times more likely to die in a fire than the general population, and their risk increases as they move toward more independent living.
“Many people were surprised to learn how far and how fast the shift to more independent living is moving,” said Bob Crandall, who presented the program to the audience of fire marshals and fire safety educators. Several attendees signed up for more training in the Prevention 1st Safe at Home model, which targets the highest fire risk injuries by addressing both environmental hazards and safety skills.
From 1988 to 2008 there was a 311% increase in adults w/IDD living in residences of 6 or fewer, and the number of those renting or living in their own home has doubled. Along with greater independence, their vulnerability for fire and burn injury is increasing. In New York State, for example, 75% of people with I/DD live semi-independently in noncertified settings—which are not subject to strict fire safety regulations.
Still Time to Register for Sept. 17 Golf Tournament
The 2018 Jane & Larry Glazer Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit Prevention 1st will be held on Monday, Sept. 17 at Midvale Country Club. There are still a few spots available for foursomes. Sponsorships are also available, and non-golfers are welcome for dinner and silent auction following the tournament.
Download the flyer and registration form here.
Golfers will have a “hole in one” opportunity to win a car donated by Ralph Honda. All participants including golfers and dinner guests will receive a tote bag donated by Abrams Fensterman. Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak is donating on-course snacks and beverages. Silent auction items include a Rochester Amerks package, shoe donated by a Buffalo Bills wide receiver, hotel packages, riding lessons, golfing at many major golf courses in the area, and more.
This year’s event will also honor the memory of Stephen Rogoff, founding co-chair of the Prevention 1st Golf Tournament, who passed away on August 14.
Prevention 1st Teams Up With Girl Scouts
Prevention 1st is creating a Leadership Development program for the Girl Scouts of Western New York (GSWNY) focusing on fire safety and prevention. Senior Girl Scouts will develop and practice their fire safety presentations, then train Daisy and/or Brownie troops. The trainings will count toward the Senior Girl Scouts’ leadership awards, and toward the younger Girl Scouts’ BIC play safe! be safe!® Fire Safety Education Patch.
“GSWNY believes the Leaders in Prevention program will help retain Senior Girl Scouts, build relationships between the younger and older girls, and motivate the junior Girl Scouts to stay with scouting beyond the elementary grades,” said Scarlett Webb, Girl Experience Specialist at GSWNY.
Prevention 1st will host two leadership development training sessions, one in Monroe County sponsored by the John F. Wegman Fund of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, and one in Erie County sponsored by Prevention 1st. At these the Senior Girl Scouts will learn about: the fire risk in young children, approaches to teaching young children, presentation skills to keep their audience engaged and learning, and resources to assist in teaching. They will develop a presentation and practice it in front of the group, then work with GSWNY to schedule presentations for Daisy and/or Brownie troops to ultimately train 900 junior Girl Scouts.
Fireworks for Sale? Let’s Pass Them By
In Prevention 1st’s home state of New York, some counties will allow the sale of certain types of fireworks during the month of June and through the holiday weekend. A new state law allows “sparkling devices”—sparklers and other small ground fireworks—to be sold and used in counties that approved a local version of the law.
Our take on this? Even when and where they’re legal, we still have plenty of reasons to leave fireworks to the pros. That includes sparklers, which burn hot enough to cause third degree burns and account for a quarter of emergency room fireworks injuries, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
By the way, it’s still illegal to set off fireworks in counties that didn’t approve the new law even if you bought them in a county that allows fireworks. And no one under the age of 18 is allowed to handle even legal fireworks—including sparklers and other sparking devices—in the state of New York.