I only have ninety minutes — how can I make my home safer?
NINETY MINUTES TO A SAFER HOUSE
Five minutes: Take this fire safety quiz. It’s from Canada, so it must be good.
One minute: Run your tap water for thirty seconds before you use it to flush lead out of the pipes.
Ten minutes: Sure, you’ve got the bug spray locked up. Now take a quick look around your house and make sure Tylenol, furniture polish, and mouthwash are locked up out of the reach of toddlers’ hands.
Fifteen minutes: Get your guns, especially handguns, away from your kids. I was trained to shoot a BB and then a rifle when I was eight (hey, it was Arkansas) but the guns were always stored UNLOADED. (Even the NRA suggests this). Lock up the ammo SEPARATELY.
Thirty minutes: Head to your local hardware store. Buy glow-tape to stick on light switches at the top and bottom of stairs and a couple of smoke detectors. Grab a small B-C rated fire extinguisher for the kitchen.
Twenty-five minutes: Pop the smoke detectors up in your kitchen and outside your bedroom. Test. Stick glow-tape on any light switches that are tough to find.
Four minutes: Put the fire extinguisher in the kitchen where you can find it when you need it!