Ladder Safety Tips for the Holidays

Many Americans spend time creating a warm and festive home atmosphere for the holidays, but decorating too often puts family and friends at risk of a serious injury.

Home Safety Council research shows that home injuries lead to nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits each year. Holiday decorating and festivities mean an increase in the use of household products that can cause injury, such as ladders and holiday lights. In fact, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), each year hospital emergency rooms treat nearly 12,800 people for injuries related to holiday decorating, including falls, cuts and shocks.

Year-round, falls are the leading cause of unintentional home injury fatality. The safest way to climb indoors and out is to use a sturdy safety ladder. Chairs and other furniture can tip or collapse under your weight. Use the following tips when using a ladder to decorate trees, retrieve stored items or hang holiday lights.

• Before using a ladder outdoors, choose a location that is well away from all power lines. Coming in contact with live wires can be fatal.
• Place the ladder on level ground and open it completely, making sure all locks are engaged.
• Use the 4-to-1 rule for extension ladders: for each 4’ of distance between the ground and the upper point of contact (such as the wall or roof), move the base of the ladder out 1’.
• Always face the ladder when climbing and wear slip-resistant shoes, such as those with rubber soles.
• Keep your body centered on the ladder and gauge your safety by your belt buckle. If your buckle passes beyond the ladder rail, you are overreaching and at risk for falling.
• Make sure rungs are dry before using the ladder.
• Stand at or below the highest safe standing level on a ladder. For a stepladder, the safe standing level is the second rung from the top, and for an extension ladder, it’s the fourth rung from the top.

For more information and resources to stay safe in and around the home during the holidays and year round, please visit the Home Safety Council.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 7:45 am and is filed under Safety Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.