Safety at Home!

Did you know that 44% of critical injuries occur at home? Did you know that you are 10 times safer at work than at home?

Safety is often forgotten when we walk through our doors to our homes. Home is our safety net, our safe haven; but when it comes to working safely and thinking about protecting ourselves, we often forget about safety measures around the home.

How often have you or someone you know or have seen cutting the grass with sandals on and no protective equipment; using a chain saw without protective equipment and proper clothing; or working in the garden without a hat and sunscreen to protect you from the sun.

Pandemic or Panic

Over a year has transpired since we started hearing about the H1N1 and the devastating effects it could have on our society. Was it as devastating as we first thought it might be? The WHO is admitting to not communicating the threat of the H1N1 clearly; identifying the communication issues due to the many unanswerable questions of a new virus. These unanswerable questions lead to uncertainty, creating a void that lead to fear and confusion around the globe. Our questions and concerns were not addressed as we would have expected neither from our health agencies nor from our government bodies.

Scientists noted that the virus was spreading quickly around the globe but as it was a new strain, they could not predict how it would behave, how deadly or virulent it would become. Predictions are expected to be instantaneous in today’s society. People want immediate answers – this was not evident in the communications around the H1N1 Virus.

Do You Have an Emergency Response Plan for Your Organization

On the wake of the earthquake that shook Ontario on June 23rd, 2010 many of you may be asking – what is this; why are we getting earthquakes, when we never have before! According to the CBC, the 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit Ontario with shaking and tremors felt in Montreal, Toronto, Kitchener and even Boston and Cleveland. Apparently, earthquakes are not uncommon to Canada with some 5000 per year – minor that they are, this is one of the largest we have had in Ontario. Weather is more dramatic with severe tornado’s that are more intense than ever before, sink holes are appearing all over the country (around the world); earthquakes are more intense and more dramatic in nature than they ever have been. What is this world coming to? No I don’t think the world will end in 2012, but we certainly need to understand the severity of the changes that are occurring and how to prepare and respond.