Preventing injuries. Saving lives.
A reminder for all student artists: the deadline for the Prevention 1st Fire Safety Poster Contest is next Friday, January 22.
Students in grades K-12 are eligible. Prizes include $50 for winners and $200 to their schools for supplies. Find all prizes and rules here.
Be sure to send you submission to our new address:
Prevention 1st
c/o Lifespan
1900 South Clinton Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618
With so much stress in our daily lives, it can seem overwhelming to add tasks for checking your home safety. The danger is that we may keep putting them off. But safety strategies don’t have to take a lot of time. In the months ahead we’ll be reminding you of simple but effective safety checks you can take to keep yourself and your family safe:
January
Be sure you’re using sanitizers and disinfectants correctly, to make them safe and effective. Learn how here.
February
Check those space heaters.
March
Plan your escape in case of fire.
April
Check for overloaded outlets and frayed cords to prevent electrical fires.
May
Review the safe pool rules with your family.
June
Check the fit on your child’s bike helmet—and your own.
July
Move that grill away from your house, and other outdoor fire safety moves.
August
Have your furnace checked before heating season begins.
September
For National Grandparents Day, do a safety and hazard check of your parents home. Better yet, have the grandchildren help do it!
October
Check your smoke (and CO) alarms.
November
Company’s coming—check your home for hazards to young children and older adults.
December
Make sure holiday lighting stays festive.
Regular use of disinfectants has become routine in many homes. Most doctors and researchers say disinfectants are safe and effective when used correctly. This is a good time to double check how you’re using them.
Keep disinfectants on surfaces, not yourself.
Disinfecting products that use bleach or quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) are considered safe if used as directed. But be sure to use them in properly ventilated rooms to avoid inhaling them, which can cause irritation in some people, and wear gloves when applying. The EPA recommends using non-aerosol sprays or wipes.
Give them time to work.
Check the product label to know how long to leave the disinfectant on a surface before wiping. Typically they recommend leaving the surface visibly wet for 4-10 minutes
Check your hand sanitizer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends checking that your hand sanitizer has at least a 60% concentration of alcohol to be effective. Also check to make sure it hasn’t expired—evaporation can lower the effectiveness of sanitizers—and check this FDA list of sanitizers to avoid because of toxic additions or inadequate levels of alcohol.
Be extra careful with disinfectants around children
Young children can be effected by smaller amounts of disinfectant than adults. And children are also more likely to ingest them because they put their hands in their mouths. Wipe off bleach- and quat-based products after they’ve been on the surface for the necessary amount of time to disinfect (see above).
For more tips and instructions for how to make your own bleach solution, check here.
In December, the darkest month, holiday lights and candles have always been hugely popular. This year, we’re even more inclined to light the darkness. As early as September, stores were already reporting strong sales of holiday lights and decorations. It’s only expected to increase, as we retreat into our homes during the coronavirus surge in the winter months.
Decorating our homes with light can bring great comfort. Just make sure to do it safely:
Find more simple steps to holiday candle and light safety here.
People often debate the value of Daylight Saving Time. But there’s no debating the value of using this biannual change as a reminder to check your smoke alarm and CO detectors.
Even for smoke alarms that have long-life batteries—or are hard-wired—it’s still important to make sure the alarm is working. Not every single long-life battery will work for 10 years, and even hard-wired alarms can fail. So yes, you should still test your smoke alarms at least twice a year — once a month is better, as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association. Replace smoke alarms after 10 years.
This is also a good time to check your CO detectors. Press and hold the Test Button on the front of the alarm until the alarm sounds (it may take up to 20 seconds). And look on the back, or near the battery compartment, for the date of manufacture. Most have a lifespan of no more than 7 years. Once you know your alarms are working, make sure everyone in your home knows what to do when the alarm goes off. Getting out may be more complicated than you think, especially if there are young children or people with disabilities in your home. And anyone may find it hard to respond quickly if the alarm goes off in the middle of the night. Go to homefiredrill.org to learn how to plan and practice a home fire drill.
The 2020 Jane and Larry Glazer Memorial Golf Tournament raised more than $43,000 to benefit Prevention 1st and help us prevent injuries all year long.
Ninety golfers turned out on a beautiful September day at Irondequoit Country Club. Congratulations to our winning golfers:
Overall men’s winners: Eric Koehler, Ryan Wegman, Zach Buschner, and Joel Chiarenza.
Overall mixed winners: Sharon Stiller, Duwaine Bascoe, Maureen Bass, and Anthony Giordano.
Many thanks to our hard-working 2020 Golf Committee: Co-chairs Jessica Holly and Michael Chatwin; Harvey Bunis; Jack Dinaburg; Eric Koehler; Stewart Moscov; Sarabeth Rogoff; and Scott Rogoff.
Tournament Sponsors
Abrams Fensterman, LLP
Buckingham Properties, LLC
Ralph Honda
Sage Rutty & Co., Inc.
Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC
Flag Sponsors
Barclay Damon, LLP
Brown & Brown of New York, Inc.
Buckingham Properties, LLC
Harvey Bunis
Community Health Strategies
Cooley Group, Inc.
Cathy & Jack Dinaburg
Rick Glazer and Family
Golisano Children’s Hospital
Sage Rutty & Co., Inc.
Sharon Stiller
Tee Sponsors
Bell Cornerstone
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust
Robert Cole & Daryl Sharp
Ernstrom & Dreste LLP
Flaherty Salmin CPAs
Graham Construction
Heritage Financial Services, LLC
Key Bank
Mengel Metzger Barr & Co.
Debbie & David Pelusio
Perlo’s Restaurant
Ralph Honda
Senator Joe Robach
Rochester Area Community Foundation, Developmental Disabilities Giving Circle
Rochester Fire Department, Fire Safety Division
Rochester Hardwood Floor
Bret & Heather Rogoff
Sage Rutty and Co., Inc.
Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC
Three Ladies and Kevin
Webster Schubel & Meier, LLP
October 4 – 10 is Fire Prevention Week, and this year the National Fire Protection Association is focusing on fire safety in the kitchen. No wonder: Nearly half of reported U.S. home fires start in the kitchen, and cooking is the leading cause of home fire injuries.
Check these resources to keep yourself and your family safe:
Cooking Matters: Be Fire Safe in the Kitchen
Cooking Matters: Modeling Kitchen Fire Safety
Protect Your Family From Scalds and Burns
Protege a su Familia de Escaldaduras (Calentamiento) y Quemaduras
For teachers, Prevention 1st also offers these lesson plans for teaching fire safety to teens with developmental disabilities, including a module on kitchen safety.
Hand sanitizer has become a staple on our shopping lists. But some of the supply being produced to meet the demand is either not effective or downright dangerous, according to the Food & Drug Administration.
The FDA’s list of over 100 hand sanitizers to be avoided includes products with inadequate levels of alcohol, as well as those containing potentially dangerous methanol.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that, when soap and water are not available, alcohol-based hand sanitizers with at least 60 percent ethanol should be used. The FDA. has found at least 4 hand sanitizers with inadequate concentrations of ethanol, including: NeoNatural, Medicare Alcohol Antiseptic Topical Solution, Datsen Hand Sanitizer and Alcohol Antiseptic 62 Percent Hand Sanitizer.
The FDA has also reported a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that have tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol, or wood alcohol, can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and can be life-threatening if ingested. Don’t expect methanol to be listed on the ingredients: Check the list of hand sanitizers to be avoided.
The 2020 Jane and Larry Glazer Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit Prevention 1st will be held on Monday, September 21. This year’s new location is Irondequoit Country Club, 4045 East Avenue, Rochester, NY.
Sponsorships are available, and non-golfers are welcome for dinner following the tournament.
Download the flyer and registration form here.
The event will adhere to all necessary safety guidelines, including table spacing and seating capacity. Golfers may ride two to a cart, however if a golfer wishes to maintain space they may walk and keep their clubs on the cart.
Please contact one of the following with questions:
Jessica Holly (co-chair): jbdinaburg@gmail.com
Michael Chatwin (co-chair): mchatwin@logs.com
Jack Dinaburg, (585) 766-3660
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Buckingham Properties
Sage Rutty
Abrams Fensterman
Ralph Honda
Shapiro, DiCaro & Barack, LLC