Hold periodic family fire drills. In case of a fire, getting all family members out of the house safely is the first priority before summoning help. Never go back into a burning building to save pets or possessions.

Follow these specific fire safety rules.

1. Keep fire extinguishers in crucial areas—the kitchen, workroom, and near stairways. Check them periodically, and teach family members how to use them.
2. Install smoke detectors, at least one per floor, and keep them in good working order. For instructions on where to install detectors, consult their instructions or check with the local fire department.
3. Keep fire ladders, or other means of escape from upper-story windows, in each bedroom.
4. Never block fire exits. Use caution when installing bars and other guards on apartment windows that lead to fire escapes. Always provide an easy escape route.
5. Never smoke in bed or when sleepy, such as when watching TV and sitting on a couch or upholstered chair; completely extinguish all cigarettes.
6. Use candles with caution since they can set curtains, table linen, clothing, and other objects on fire. Always use a proper candleholder and extinguish the candles before you leave the room.
7. Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children; teach children at an early age not to play with matches or fire of any kind.
8. Place portable heaters away from flammable upholstery and never leave them unattended.
9. When cooking, do not let grease and drippings contact flames or sources of heat.

The kitchen is the most dangerous room in the house; frequent kitchen accidents include falls, fires, poisoning, cuts, and electrical shocks. Follow these kitchen safety rules.

1. Always use a stepstool or ladder to reach high cabinets; never stand on a chair or counter.
2. Don't wear long, loose garments when on a ladder.
3. Regularly inspect stepstools and ladders for loose joints, missing rungs, or wobbliness; discard or repair as necessary.
4. Consistently check the floor for slippery spots and mop up all spills promptly.
5. Don't wear a scarf, a tie, or loose-flowing sleeves when cooking.
6. Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove and always use a potholder (not a towel or napkin) to remove hot pots from the stove or oven.
7. Use salt or baking soda to quench small stove fires; don't douse with water.
8. Keep a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen that you and other family members know how to use.
9. Install a smoke alarm in or near the kitchen.
10. Unplug all appliances, especially irons and high-speed food processors, immediately after use.
11. Keep kitchen and all other matches out of the reach of children; buy only safety matches.
12. Check pilot lights periodically and make sure gas appliances are properly installed, vented, and in good working order.
13. Store all cleaning materials and compounds in a cabinet with a childproof lock.
14. All poisonous materials should be clearly marked; do not transfer poisonous substances to milk bottles or other containers normally used for food or beverages.
15. Place only skidproof scatter rugs in the kitchen and other high-traffic areas.

The bathroom is the second most dangerous room in the house, the site of about 200,000 injuries a year, including burns, falls, and electric shocks.

1. Never touch or turn on an electric switch or an electrical appliance while standing in the bathtub, shower, or on a damp floor.
2. Don't use a portable electric heater in the bathroom.
3. Don't use a hair dryer in or near a bathtub containing water.
4. Place suction-type mats in bathtubs lacking skid-resistant bottoms.
5. Always keep nonskid mats next to bathtubs.
6. Install a strong "grab bar" offering solid support for getting into and out of a tub if such a bar is not part of the bathtub installation.
7. Never leave a small child alone in the bathtub, even for a brief moment.
8. Install a night-light just outside the bathroom door.
9. Used razor blades and other sharp objects should be discarded in their containers, not tossed loose in a wastebasket.

Statistically, the bedroom is the most dangerous room in the house, the site of more fatal accidents than any other room. Falls out of bed, stumbles over objects in the dark, fires that kill sleepers—a surprisingly large number of deaths occur in the bedroom.

1. Never smoke in bed.
2. Unplug heating pads and electric blankets when not in use.
3. If you take medicine at night, or need a drug such as nitroglycerin handy, place only one medicine on your bedside table. Always turn on a light and verify that you have the right medicine before taking it.
4. Keep eyeglasses on a bedside table.
5. Install retractable fire ladders outside the window of each upstairs bedroom.
6. Install a telephone within easy reach of the bed, especially for people with heart disease, diabetes, or other chronic illnesses.
7. Install a special telephone system with preprogrammed emergency dialing and prerecorded emergency messages for anyone with serious illness or disability, particularly if the person lives alone.
   

Keep basic first-aid supplies readily available. For optimal preparedness, carry a set in the car and have another at home in the medical supply cabinet or shelf. Bring a portable first-aid kit when you back-pack, camp, hike, bike, or spend time in a remote and unpopulated area. All boats should carry a first-aid kit wrapped in a waterproof cover. Check these supplies periodically and replenish promptly. The most important items include:

1. Sterile gauze pads
2. Adhesive bandages in assorted sizes, including 4-inch-square compress pads
3. Two rolls of gauze, 1 and 2 inches wide
4. Roll of adhesive bandage tape, 1 inch wide
5. Roll of absorbent cotton
6. Elastic bandages 2 and 3 inches wide
7. Tissues
8. Cotton-tipped applicators (swabs)
9. Precut triangular bandages of various sizes for slings, splints, bandages
10. Airtight packages of hand-cleansing disposable towels (optional)
11. Tongue depressors
12. Several medium-size boards to use as splints
13. Sharp scissors
14. Pair of tweezers
15. Oral thermometer (rectal thermometer for infants and very young children)
16. Safety pins
17. Aspirin or acetaminophen
18. Tightly covered bottle of hydrogen peroxide
19. Antiseptic spray or cream
20. Antihistamine tablets
21. Antidiarrheal medication
22. Container of ipecac syrup

In addition, these items should be carried at all times in a car or boat:

1. Folded lightweight insulating blanket (sometimes called a "space" blanket)
2. Clean, folded sheet
3. Large waterproof cover (tarpaulin)
4. Tightly capped plastic bottle of water
5. Flashlight with fresh batteries
   

SUPPLIES FOR SPECIAL NEEDS

Persons hypersensitive to insect stings:

Insect sting kit containing a syringe of adrenaline, an antihistamine, and a hypodermic needle (prescribed by and used under the instruction and direction of a physician)

Persons with diabetes:

Reserve supply of insulin

Handy supply of simple sugar, which can be used to treat insulin shock

Persons with heart disease:

Supply of nitroglycerin or other needed medication

All persons with chronic medical conditions:

Medic Alert bracelet, which immediately tells a rescuer that special precautions may be needed