The thread that could save a life

[SlightlyJaded]

So I was really shocked at the terrible camping tragedy a few weeks ago where people died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the fumes given off by a disposable barbecue. It was a horribly sad but really shocking for me because I didn't know:

Disposable bbq's gave off carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide 'sinks' so you are most at danger at floor level
Tents do not offer enough ventilation to prevent it.

Then the other day a fireman told me that one of the biggest causes of fires these days are phone/laptop chargers plugged in but not connected to a device. I had no idea.

And when I did a first aid course when PFB DD1 was born, the St John Ambulance woman told me that if she had her way, balloons would be outlawed until children were around 8-10. Smaller children try to blow them up, they don't have the lungs for it and the balloon suddenly pings into the mouth/back of throat and no 'upside down/back banging/heimlich maneuver is ever going to shift them'. She said that the 999 emergency services operators always feel their hearts sink when someone calls up in a panic because a child has swallowed a balloon because it so often has a grim outcome.

My DC think I'm a bit mad about balloons now. But hey ho.

Please share more 'hidden dangers' that we might not all be aware of. Not to give us all the horrors but seriously, I wouldn't have thought twice about the disposable barbeque and it's really made me wonder if I am doing anything else stupid/dangerous.

I thought you were meant to put a wet tea towel on a chip pan fire?? What do you do then?

Also, be aware that a person choking often will not cough and if they don't cough it is because the object is well and truly stuck and should be viewed as more serious than someone coughing and spluttering.

And those frankfurter type sausages are just the right size to be choked on and apparently are the most frequently choked on food stuff in the US (not sure about the UK). I don't let the dc have them.

And they won't be having marshmallows when they are old enough either now. We were never allowed peanuts as children for that reason too.

I did have a really good piece of advice but it's now been displaced.

Blast off, the cloth would have to be damp, not wet. If you soaked it and threw it over, you may as well chuck water on it.

Best not use a chip pan at all I reckon, lethal things.

Ahh, I see, thanks for clearing that up Rumpled. No, I don't have a chip pan, but good to know!

I hate chip pans

However, I thought a wet towel was the thing to do as well - of course damp rather than wet makes sense but all I remember from that ad campaign a few years back was - get a tea towel, get it wet and throw over the fire.

I'm sure the wringing out part must have been on there, but I'm not sure I'd remember it - would you remember all instructions if you were panicking? :(

After reading some of this thread and hearing about several tragic fires in recent months I wonder if a Mumsnet web chat with someone from the Fire Service might be a good idea?

I went shopping for a new smoke alarm recently and was baffled by the different types. I felt a little emotionally blackmailed into buying the most expensive one. I would really appreciate some advice on this, and other fire related stuff.....

I know Mumsnet is a wealth of useful information- but it would be great to hear from the professionals IMHO.

Sausages. I know of a 3 year old who died choking on a sausage. My ds has them but I cut them up very small.
Does anyone know what age you can stop cutting grapes?

• Always make sure you take a set of front door keys upstairs with you at bedtime so you can unlock and get out of the front door if there is a fire or any other reason you need to get out quickly.

We never used to do this and then I saw a fire safety ad on TV which showed somebody locked in their house unable to unlock the front door and get out as they didn't have the keys with them and the keys were in another room that they couldn't get to because of the fire.

I know some people have yales only and this doesn't apply to them but if you have a lock that needs a key to lock/unlock it (as we have) then keep your keys with you over night.

• If you only have locks that need a key to lock/unlock them on your front or back door, if you are in the back garden nicely sunning yourself or upstairs or even just in another part of the house, make sure that either the locks are locked or that you get a yale as well - otherwise your kids can just wander out of the house or someone could just wander in.

• If you go upstairs or to another part of the house away from your back door or patio doors the same applies, always lock them - my mum nipped upstairs with some ironing for literally two minutes and came down to discover someone had come in through the unlocked patio door and nicked her handbag, mobile phone and other small items. I know it seems overcautious but the same thing happened to my MIL as well.

• I always take my mobile phone with me upstairs or to the loo when on my own in the house or on my own with the kids so if I fell or something happened to me I can use the phone or get the kids to quickly.

Will be unplugging all chargers from now on.

Inapickle - phone your local fire station, they will send someone out to do a fire safety risk assessment for you and provide and put up fire alarms in the best places.

I am pretty sure it's a service available nationwide.

Another major cause of fires - the lights in understairs cupboards. They often get left on and then people throw in old stuff into their understairs cupboard (like old newspapers or maybe old clothes on their way to the charity shop) - if they come into contact with each other which is possible because of the odd angles of the cupboard and the general shove-it-all-in nature of an understairs cupboard a fire can result.

I don't actually like the fact that my insurance requires me to have a mortice lock on my front door that is key operated from the inside. I wanted a knob-operated one iykwim, so I could get out quickly in case of fire. But that's not allowed by insurance companies because that would allow a burglar to get out easily with stolen goods. I would rather a burglar could get out than a family couldn't get out but the insurance cos won't budge on that. I think the fire brigades people should launch a campaign on that against the insurance companies.

another one that might seem patronising but isn't meant to be. i live in an estate with about a million children in it. reversing has to be a very slow process because they literally just dart out across the road and some as young as 2 or 3! they have no road sense. i dont want to get into the whole "parents need to watch them better" because the fact of the matter is that there is always that risk of a child running behind you (i've been so close to bumping a child on a few occasions even when i was going dead slow).

so very slow reversing, checking all your mirrors and blind spots constantly and telling any children who are about that you will be reversing out now so to stay on the footpath.

I was shocked by that camping tragedy too. I just did not know that those things gave off carbon monoxide which sounds really stupid but I just didn't realise.

Cot bumpers :( I can't believe the number of people still using ones with ties. Dangerous things.

Had fire-service do a safety check on our house.

1. Take your keys and mobile to bed with you and keep them in a place that is easy to remember. The former is obvious but the phone thing is because if there is a fire, you might not get the landline to work.

1. The second thing they told us is to make sure that all of the downstairs doors are closed at night. Modern doors are designed to be fire resistant and can give you an extra fifteen minutes protection (time to phone for help and figure out the best way out).

Someone asked when is it safe to stop cutting up grapes; well, I chocked on one at grand wise age of 24 and very close call it was too. Absolutely horrifying, still makes me whimper when I think about it.

As for the fire assessment - around here (SW) you must be 75 or over to qualify.

IME, testing your smoke alarm regularly by pressing the button isn't enough. My old ones worked fine when I tested them by pressing the button, but when I burned the toast and there was smoke everywhere ~ nothing! so I got an incense stick and put it up under the alarm in full smoke and it didn't work. Pressed the button and it did. Clearly, they must wear out. Anyway, I replaced mine.

get an escape ladder if you don't have any easy route out of upstairs and make a fire plan which the children know and understand.

I have first hand experience of dryers causing fires. So so scary. We used to leave it on and go out for the whole day. Sometimes leaving teens upstairs in their rooms, music on, oblivious to the world around them.

One day, we put the dryer on and shut the kitchen door. 20 minutes or so later there was a funny smell - like plastic burning. Couldn't work out where it was coming from. We then saw smoke coming from under the kitchen door - opened it up and there it was - dryer fully aflame. Thank god we had extinguishers in the house - thank god we were actually IN at the time.

Never used one since.

Re. mortise locks - my Dad leaves the key in his, but turned half way so it can't be easily either pulled or pushed out. Then he doesn't have to fumble for it. Obviously this is still a burglary risk to some extent, if there are glass panels in the door and they have the right equipment; but most burglars would sooner break into an easier house unless they're after something specific.
And, tbh, if they want to get into your house and you've mortise-locked the door, they'll break a window. (Been there, had that happen :()

And another one: dummies.

Children with teeth can bite the ends off and they can easily pose a choking hazard or so I learned on a St John's paediatric first aid course.

I was digging my ears out earlier with a cotton bud and the cotton wool came off the end and got stuck deep inside my ear (so far in it couldn't be seen). I eventually managed to get it out with a pair of tweezers but that could quite easily have been an a&e job.

You shouldn't be putting a cotton bud that deeply into your ear in the first place, though.

Just marking spot, as have only read first page so far, and learnt a lot already - want to come back and read rest tomorrow.

Thanks SlightlyJaded for starting it.