European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                August 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 by Patricia Mccormack United press International the National safety Council reports the four most important kinds of fatal accidents occurring inside the Home Poi suffocation usually happen in the in is no Safe in the latest year for which stats Are Home accidents in the United states killed and caused 3 million disabling inthe fatal bedroom accidents most victims Are either older than or younger than including those in the Are the leading cause of accidental death in the some die that Way in a two thirds of the fatal Falls occur at floor caused by a turned up Rug an object on the floor or a Slippery spot from a to make the bedroom the Council recommends a Light switch at the Entrance and a Light at dont leave things lying around so peo ple can trip Over if Small rugs Are make sure they have nonskid backing and no frayed or curled up never smoke in people who fall asleep while smoking cause thousands of and this is a principal cause of Home fire the Council says in its room Broom Home safety the bathroom also is a place where Many accidents the combination of Medica Tion and Slippery surfaces makes it a High Hazard the most serious bathroom accidents Are electric electrocutions and the safety report the most common injury occurs when a person slips getting out of a tub or nonfatal injuries in the american bathroom Are Esti mated at and about 200 drownings occur every year in electric shocks happen when people wet or in the tub turn on electric switches or touch electrical the Basic safety Rule to avoid death from electricity while pursuing cleanliness is never Contact any electrical fixture or appliance with wet while standing on a Damp while in the Bathtub or show or while touching any Metal safety experts say the Best precaution is to keep items like electric hot tooth Curling hot lather hair dryers and Sun lamps out of the but what if they must be used there place them where they cannot be reached or accidentally fall the sink or to prevent stash breakable bottles of shampoo and lotions someplace in the bathroom where they wont get knocked Down and the Kitchen is no safety Island experts say cuts and Burns Are the most frequent injuries from Kitchen disasters with Falls and poisonings the consumer product safety commission says More than people Are treated in emergency rooms for injuries associated with Kitchen knives each hurrying and carelessness Are often cited As reasons for Kitchen according to the Home safety Kitchen fires Are another Hazard and most occur around dinner when burners Are set too High and people Are not paying leaving the stove unattended dominates the causes Erma Bombeck tips for household safety Home can be hazardous for fires with cooking the consumer product safety commission estimates that More than receive treatment each year for injuries involving Gas and electric Kitchen so Hows the safety rating for the living or family rooms although usually devoid of the most sinister Falls and fires do occur to help prevent keep rugs Flat and smooth and avoid clutter so walking areas Are people should be Able to walk through rooms with out devouring and squeezing past obstacles and around the Council watch out for sleeping keep magazines and newspapers off the have switches near doors so no one has to Cross a room in fires started by worn electrical cords Are All too this can happen because a Cord dries out and becomes replace such if you get a Shock from a lamp or its an indication somethings dont use it until it is other tips for Accident prevention in the living or family rooms dont put television sets in Builtin bookshelves unless there is space on All sides to allow for Sentila a cubicle that allows heat accumulation is danger the same Rule applies to stereo unless the manufacturer states the set is designed to be so turn off equipment when leaving the ashtrays should be placed where they cannot be knocked and they should be designed to prevent contents from falling heavy ashtrays Are dont drink and in most fires where smok ing is the drinking is a contributing before going to bed after a empty All glasses and place liquor bottles out of reach of kids often get up earlier than parents do after a discovering bottles and unfinished kids often do whats natural let curiosity get the better of they Sample the it Doest take much alcohol to Poi son a Small in a Lousy pen just ask my when she lived in Ohio and i lived in she used to Send me rewritten letters in stamped envelopes addressed to her with instruct initial and she warned me that someday i would get what i no one would write to she is my desk is piled High with letters of intimacy and personal experiences from All Over the take this one from de How much Money do you William Bombeck will you Settle for million Are you mom and remembering the polyester Blouse you bought for my birthday de not Only wants to give the prize to me but he mentioned my name 13 times in his and i got one this week from who its easy to put aside a letter like this with the idea youll respond he knows me pretty but if you sat in my office for just one youd the real urgency of this fewer than 400 Mountain gorillas exist in the entire world and i heard again from who it is late at in tired and my burning eyes Are telling me its time to the last staff packed up and headed but before i go Home i wanted to write to you and ask for your and i love hearing from she always gets right to the Point the bugeye Bird on our envelope who is ogling you with such distemper has a Hes a native american Sandhill Crane and you May be sitting on top of one of his nesting and of course theres my weekly letter from Bergdorf who just happens to regard me As a part of a select and elite group that is invited to All the private and How Many people you think get that kind of attention in not sitting Here staring at an empty Mailbox Day after abandoned by my alumni association thinks that out of of its my gift is crucial to annual Esquire Magazine wants to give me a Road map to Success which will come with my and Charlie you remember Charlie wants me to give Jacques Cousteau a birthday present he will never Ive got friends out there who dont care if i Tell them what the kids Are where were going for Vaca and How i fixed the potatoes we had for dinner last they dont sulk when i Send them a Check for their birthday and Tell them ill write they dont make me feel guilty for not remembering their wedding and i have yet to have one of the 500 or so correspondents Send pictures of the family in your next no these letter writers always get my number right and the Ink never smudges on the who said computers were cold and impersonal c lot Angeles times Syndicate