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FeedSafe at Home
A house can be a dangerous place (if you’re not prepared).
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Chaucer said it first: April is the cruelest month. It marks the beginning of dependable weather—a time when homeowners venture out and, well, have accidents. They fall from ladders while cleaning gutters or replacing loose shingles. They suffer second-degree burns when working around hot surfaces like motors or charcoal grills with clunky lids.
Then there’s the accidental poisoning, chemical burns, electric shocks, and wounds caused by portable power tools and machines like mowers, hedge trimmers and chainsaws. According to the Home Safety Council, more accidents happen at home than anywhere else; on average, nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million injuries are reported annually in the U.S.
At the Good Fellowship Ambulance and EMS Training Institute, the largest center of its kind in the Brandywine Valley, emergency medical personnel typically see a spike in 911 calls during the April and May transition months, which suggests a connection to renewed outdoor activity. Executive director William Wells says it’s inevitable that they’ll get a call about a heart attack on the golf course, but the advice he offers also applies to homeowners.
“All winter long, we hibernate,” Wells says. “And then suddenly, [warm weather comes and] we’re up for anything.”
Accidents are hard to predict—that’s why they’re called accidents. But you can still find ways to assess your surroundings and habits to ensure that your home isn’t a danger zone.
“You can’t prevent everything,” says Wells, who’s also a part-time paramedic with Chester County Medic 91 and a third-generation emergency services volunteer. “You’d end up being a very paranoid person who won’t try anything.”
Along with Jerry Peters, who directs Good Fellowship’s training courses and is a full-time paramedic with Chester County Medic 91, Wells is a virtual encyclopedia of accident-related injuries.
Rather than inspire fear, Wells prefers to focus on common sense and lifestyle habits. He lists the three basics: “Exercise, eat right and—here’s one that we’re not very good at in this country—get the right amount of sleep.”
And pay attention to the world around you. “Like everything else, the seasons change—we change, year after year. What you did last year, you might not be able to do as well this year,” Wells says. “With that in mind, you have to assess your physical changes and do things gradually. You can’t get out there in 90-degree weather and rototill that garden.”
Good Fellowship’s roster of first-aid courses—including the popular pediatric first-aid class—is open to the public. The classes address some accident issues and prevention tips. But in the end, Wells concedes, training will never fully take the place of self-awareness—and finding that middle ground between complacency and paranoia.
“If you know you have a chronic medical condition like diabetes, doesn’t it make sense to talk to your family physician before you do any strenuous activity?” he poses. “I sound like a television commercial, I know—but it’s true.”
Wells’ advice is echoed by Harvard Medical School and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Harvard has reported on the correlation between age and accidents, pointing out that the chances of landing in the emergency room suddenly increase when one hits age 65.
CDC studies outline recommendations organized by “life stage” and population type, advising folks to consult their physicians about the need for tests that determine balance and gait, and pinpoint cardiovascular problems, joint stiffness and neurological issues. Your doctor should also review your medications and dosages—a potential trouble spot linked to accident-related injuries and deaths.
Ultimately, though, as much as we might like the experts to make judgments for us, preventing accidents is up to us. Risk assessors contend that home accidents are based on either intrinsic factors (those related to aging, such as poor eyesight or insufficient blood pressure) or extrinsic factors (environmental issues, poor lighting in a stairway, an inadequately grounded electrical circuit).
