Home Safety Checklist: 7 Items To Keep Your Family Safe

by Kevin Cooper

Keeping our families safe will always be a top priority so take a moment to stop and look around your El Paso, TX home. Chances are you'll be able to spot plenty of opportunities to keep your family safe. Here are the top items to make sure you have around the home, are in top shape, & regularly checked/maintained.

#1) Fire Extinguishers

This home safety staple should be in a few places in your home; in your kitchen, in your garage, and in any space where fire or flammable objects are regularly used. Make sure it is regularly serviced as having a fire extinguisher on hand isn't going to do much good if it's broken or expired. Call your local fire department to come out and do a check on yours. In the midst of a blaze would be the wrong time to discover this is not working properly.

#2) Smoke Alarms

You should have working smoke detectors in each bedroom as well as any upstairs hallways and at least a couple on the main floor of your home. Replace the batteries every six months or when daylight savings time begins and ends in your area.

#3) Basic First Aid Kit

Keep a variety of adhesive bandages along with things you may need for more significant injuries such as gauze, iodine, rubbing alcohol, tape, surgical scissors, and antibiotic ointment. Check the stock and expiration dates of all items in your kits at least once or twice a year.

#4) Emergency Contact List

Have an up-to-date contact list of emergency contacts like grandparents, family members, doctors and/or vets, poison control, and babysitters and/or pet sitters in a visible area. Also, make sure to include your health insurance information, medical alert information, & any medications or supplements you may be taking in the event you are unable to provide it.

#5) Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Carbon monoxide (CO), is the odorless, tasteless, and invisible gas that can be a threat to any home. Unsafe levels of carbon monoxide can emit from furnaces, room heaters, fireplaces, stoves, grills, and even a car left running in the garage. Keep those appliances in good shape and have them inspected regularly and install a CO detector near these appliances and on the main level of your home. If your CO alarm beeps, open all the windows, and if it continues beeping, call your local fire department right away.

#6) Night Lights

Night lights aren't just for kids, they can help prevent falls in the middle of the night, and battery-powered ones will come in handy as you're gathering flashlights and candles when the power goes out.

#7) Disaster Kit

Find a pre-assembled one online or a DIY for one that's perfectly suited to your family and the El Paso area. You'll be thankful for your disaster kit if you find yourself in a power outage for several hours or even several days. Once you assemble your disaster kit, don't ignore it. Replace expired items and restock any items that you may have grabbed throughout the year. If you're assembling these items yourself, store them in a waterproof bag or backpack so you can easily grab it in an emergency.

Some items to keep in your disaster kit (multiply each item by the number of people living in your home):