There’s no place to get injured
Like home. Children and older people are especially prone to accidents at home. It’s not only the common traffic accident and occasional dramatic air accident that maim or kill people; a great percentage of accidents - fatal and non-fatal - take place at home.

Many of these could have been prevented, had householders taken the effort to make their homes safer. Baby-proofing your home, or tidying it up so that your family is less likely to slip and fall, and fitting the right protection systems are preventive actions you can do. That extra effort could mean the difference between life and death.

Falls
Most falls at home occur from tripping over misplaced items, slipping on slippery floors, and hitting on glass tables with unprotected edges. These slips and trips aren't always due to clumsiness.

Many can be prevented by keeping these simple rules in mind:

Remove clutter

Home safety includes getting rid of extra household stuff and neatly storing them away. For example, the potential for fire increases with each stack of old newspapers. Throw away what you don't need. Store what you do need in filing cabinets, see-through plastic bins and desk and closet organizers.
Glass tables are especially dangerous. You may receive further injuries if you fall onto one and the glass shatters. Your best bet: sturdy wooden tables with rounded corners. Arrange furniture to provide clear pathways.
Keep electrical and telephone cords out of walkways. Harmless-looking items like a child’s crayon or a magazine on the floor can easily trip a person. Remove other hazards like children’s toys that may be scattered on the floor.

Keep it dry

Wet floor surfaces may not appear dangerous - until you step on them - and then it抯 too late. Heed these tips to stay safe in your kitchen and bathrooms:

Clean up grease, water and other spilt liquids from floors immediately.
Don’t wax floors.
Don’t climb tables to reach high cabinets or shelves. Use a sturdy step stool with handrails instead.
Keep a night-light on in your bathroom.
Use bathroom mats with nonskid backing.
Install grab bars beside toilets and in the shower and tub.
Vary the colours in your bathroom. Having a white tub, white toilet and white walls can be a big safety hazard, so add bright decals and even red tape so that older adults can see where the edges are.

Fires
One of the most devastating disasters that can happen in a home is a fire. To minimize your risk of fire:

Install smoke alarms. Test them monthly, and replace the batteries twice a year.
Plan and practise a fire escape route with your family.
Remove potential fire hazards, such as frayed wires, wires under carpets, loose plugs . Gas smell around pipes or appliances is a warning sign. Move candles and joss sticks away from combustibles, such as draperies or stacks of old newspapers.

Fires are also likely to occur at night when people are asleep, and most fatal fires are from bedlinen that have caught fire from a stray cigarette smoked in bed. Never smoke in bed or when you’re sleepy.

Dimming of lights, blown fuses, tripped circuit breakers, frayed cords and other electric problems place stress on system’s capacity and put the household in danger. If you notice these around the house, have a professional electrician check your electrical system immediately.

There’s a lot of common sense involved in making your home fire-safe. Keep combustible materials, such as kitchen towels and newspapers, away from heat sources, such as candles, burners and stoves. Don’t overload electrical circuits. In case of fire, leave your home immediately.

Kids
It’s not child’s play. Babies learn quickly in their first year. For new parents, it's a pleasant surprise to see how soon they begin moving and exploring. But turn your back for a moment, and the infant who was squirming helplessly on a blanket is suddenly crawling across the room at high speeds.

Children are naturally curious. Tasting, touching and feeling are how infants and toddlers learn about the world around them. Take a moment to look at your surroundings from a youngster's point of view. Then make any necessary adjustments to baby-proof your home.

If you have lots of tools or do your own house maintenance, make sure you lock up your power tools and chemicals inside a cabinet.

Store flammable materials, such as gasoline or oil-soaked rags, in appropriate containers. Store matches in a fire-resistant container on high shelves or out of the reach of youngsters.

Keep hazardous substances, like weed killers, fertilizers or grease-removing solvents, locked in cabinets or out of children's reach.

Many accidents happen when babies or young children take a fall. Don't leave babies alone on beds, changing tables, or sofas, and always strap children when in highchairs and strollers.

If you have a staircase at home keep them clear. Staircases account for a large percentage of home falls. Combine a child's boundless, yet reckless, energy with a staircase full of junk, and you could end up taking an emergency trip to the hospital.

Use safety gates if there are infants and toddlers in your home. At the top of the stairs, attach the gate to a wall. Avoid accordion gates with large openings -- a child's neck can get trapped.

Fixing grills on your HDB flat window is a must. But take extra precautions to keep your windows closed and locked when children are around. When opening windows for ventilation, open windows that a child cannot reach.

Set and enforce rules about keeping children's play away from windows or even glass doors. Falling through the glass can be fatal or cause serious injury.

Keep furniture - or anything children can climb - away from windows. Place children抯 beds away from the window.

In the bathroom, use a rubber mat or slip-resistant stickers in the bathtub. Never leave a small child unattended in the bathtub. A small child can drown even in very shallow water in a plastic pail.

Dangers that are obvious to adults are not necessarily that apparent to children. They need extra guidance and an ever-vigilant eye. By following these simple suggestions, you help make your home a safer and more secure place for everyone.

Education is also just as essential. Teach your children the basics of safety, and enforce them strictly. Teach youngsters that matches are not toys.

Electrical

Keep electrical cords and wires out of the way so toddlers can't pull, trip or chew on them. Cover wall outlets with safety caps. Faulty electrical connections and wires can be a great source of danger, especially to children. They can also start fires. All homes should be checked for flickering lights, blown fuses or sparks.

Overloading outlets is a common mistake householders make, especially in the kitchen. Learn to read appliance labels and calculate how to balance the load. All home outlets have a maximum wattage they can support. To find out what your appliances require, look for the wattage (eg 100 W) near the serial number (usually on the bottom of the appliance). Follow these guidelines strictly. Overloading can cause anything from a blown fuse to an electrical fire from overheated wires.

Don’t use old extension cords without inspecting them first, and check for frays and cracks.

Damaged and overloaded cords may cause a shock or fire. Cords should tell how much power they can support. Use cords with caution. Extension cords are meant for short-term use and shouldn't be used to plug more items into a single outlet. If you have cords running throughout the house, have an electrician install additional outlets.

Don’t ignore switches or outlets that don't work; there's a reason behind why they don't work, and that reason could be a symptom of a larger problem.

Make your home safe for children by not leaving exposed outlets around. Safety covers such as inexpensive snap-on outlet covers and special tamper-resistant switch plates are easily available.

Unplug heat-producing appliances when not in use. This includes irons and toasters. Don’t forget to keep appliances away from water. Never reach into water for a plugged-in appliance. Unplug it first. Have the item inspected before using it again.

Kitchen
The kitchen is well known for being one of the greatest sources of accidents in the home. The frequent usage of high-load electrical equipment, use of open fires and sharp objects make it the No. 1 danger spot in the home. It is thus absolutely essential to pay extra attention to kitchen safety, especially when there are children around.

Never leave cooking equipment unattended, and keep your cooking area clean and uncluttered. Greasy or cluttered stove tops can lead to fires.

While cooking, make sure that you turn the pan handles in, so that children or even you won’t knock the pan over. Hot soup on the stove top can fall and burn someone. Don't let children touch or get near hot items. Children in the kitchen should be kept under close supervision. Lock up cupboards and cabinets that contain detergents or other potentially harmful substances.

Don’t forget to clean behind and underneath the fridge periodically to prevent dust and dirt buildup on coils and cords, and never touch an electrical device if you are in contact with water.