Stand By Your Pan
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- Published on Wednesday, 22 November 2017 08:34
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – News Release
Release Date: November 21, 2017
Release Number: 18-043
“Stand By Your Pan”: Thanksgiving Cooking Tips That You Can Be Thankful For
There’s nothing quite like sharing special moments with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. To keep families safe this holiday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) encourages consumers to follow safe cooking practices to ensure a memorable and enjoyable Thanksgiving meal.
Most home cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving Day. From 2012 through 2014, there was an average of 2,100 cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day alone—more than three times the average rate of 400 cooking fires a day.
‘STAND BY YOUR PAN!’
“Being prepared in the kitchen is important, especially on Thanksgiving Day when there is a lot of activity and people are at home,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle. “Never leave the stove unattended as cooking is the top cause of home fires. Keep an eye on your food to prevent a fire from starting in the first place.”
PRACTICE SAFE COOKING.
- Avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing and keep flammable items away from hot ranges or ovens.
- Be on alert! Keep children and pets away from hot stovetops.
- Turn pan handles to the back and away from the front of the range.
- Have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Visit www.cpsc.gov/recalls to see if your fire extinguisher has been recalled.
Never pour water or flour on a pan fire. Cover the pan with a lid to smother the flames or use a fire extinguisher. Call 911 if necessary.
COOK THE TURKEY, NOT THE HOUSE!
- Only use a turkey fryer outside and away from your home. Never use a turkey fryer in a garage or on a porch.
- Don’t overfill the oil or leave the turkey fryer unattended.
- Be sure to cook your turkey to a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured by a food thermometer. For more tips on how to cook a turkey, check out the Consumer Guide to Safely Roasting a Turkey provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Since 1998, there have been more than 214 turkey fryer-related fires, burns, explosions or incidents reported. These incidents caused 80 injuries (none fatal) and over 9.6 million in property damage.
SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES.
Protect your family by installing smoke alarms on every level of your home and in every bedroom. Test your smoke alarm every month to make sure they are working properly. Change batteries in smoke alarms every year – many people do so at daylight savings time.
“The Fire Service has long been witness to the many lives saved through the presence of working smoke alarms,” said U.S. Fire Administrator G. Keith Bryant. “As we begin this year’s holiday season we encourage everyone to ensure their families and homes are protected by a working smoke alarm.”
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE!
Establish a fire escape plan and practice with everyone who lives in your home.
- Find two ways out - Make sure there are two ways out from each room and a clear path to the outside from each exit.
- Children, disabled persons, and the elderly will need additional assistance during a fire emergency, so plan accordingly.
For more information and tips on how to protect your family in the event of a fire, check out our multigenerational toolkit. You can also find more fire safety tips in our fire safety information center.
Great American Smoke Out 2017
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- Published on Monday, 13 November 2017 08:30
Great American Smoke Out 2017
The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout is an annual event that encourages smokers to make a plan to quit smoking (1). The 42nd annual Great American Smokeout will be held on November 16, 2017.
In the more than 50 years since the Surgeon General’s first report on smoking and health, cigarette smoking among U.S. adults has been reduced by approximately half. Nonetheless, since 1964, the year of that first report, an estimated 20 million persons have died because of smoking. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States (2).
About two out of three adult smokers want to quit smoking cigarettes, and approximately half of smokers made a quit attempt in the preceding year (2). However, in 2016, more than one in seven U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers (3). Getting effective help through counseling and use of medications can increase the chances of quitting by as much as threefold (4).
Information and support for quitting smoking is available by telephone at 800-QUIT-NOW (800–784–8669). CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign offers additional quit resources at https://www.cdc.gov/tips.
Prevent Tip Overs
- Details
- Published on Monday, 13 November 2017 08:26
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
November 9, 2017
Anchor It! to Prevent Tip Overs
#AnchorIt #FijaloBien! #FixezLes #MaakZeVast #Fixai
Across 19 countries and in five languages, the safety message is the same: AnchorIt! to prevent tip overs. Between November 6 and 10, 2017, CPSC and product safety agencies from around the world will promote global awareness of TV and furniture tip-over hazards.
In the United States, more than 30,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year, due a TV or furniture tip-over incident. About one child dies every 2 weeks.
Young children, ages 1 to 3, are curious! They attempt to exert their independence by dressing themselves and climbing on furniture to reach for a favorite toy or other item.
While this curiosity is a natural part of development, it also puts young children at risk of being injured or killed in tip-over incidents.
To protect against tip-over danger as child development progresses, CPSC urges three simple steps:
- Anchor top-heavy furniture, such as dressers, armoires and bookshelves.
- Secure TVs to the base or wall.
- Check for, and act on recalls of products that present tip-over hazards.
Join the international conversation on tip-over prevention by following the hashtags above. Together, we can raise awareness and end deadly tip-over incidents.
CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle Urges Consumers to Anchor It!
About U.S. CPSC:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information atwww.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC’s free e-mail newsletters.
CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:
800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)
Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime
Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.
Media Contact
Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.
Phone: 301-504-7908
Spanish: 301-504-7800
Count the Kicks
- Details
- Published on Friday, 03 November 2017 11:08
Count the Kicks App
Counting a baby’s kicks can prevent stillbirths and improve birth outcomes. This is easy for expectant mothers to do, and there is even a free app that expectant mothers can download onto their phone to help them count the kicks at the touch of a button. Expectant mothers should count the kicks at the same time each day and the app will even remind them when it is time to count the kicks. This app is available for iPhone and Android devices. More information can be found at https://www.countthekicks.org/.