Tis the season for hanging your holiday lights, but more importantly for reviewing safety measures that must be considered while hanging said lights. Fall related injuries increase substantially during the holiday season. A study conducted by CDC estimated 17465 people were treated in the emergency departments between 2000-2003. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5348a1.htm

 

Here are a few tips to make sure you keep yourself as safe as possible while hanging your seasonal decor

• Choose a nice day
  This may seem obvious but as we get closer to the season the weather gives us fewer and fewer opportunities to spend the day on a ladder.
  Frozen hands and wet feet can be more than a discomfort, they can also cause you to become distracted and hasty in your work.

 

• Untangle and test your light strands before hanging them
  You don’t want to be messing around with knotted strands of lights while you are up on a ladder. Take advantage of the ground while you are on it, changing a bulb is a lot less complicated when you have your feet on the ground.

 

• Don’t work alone
  Not only does another pair of hands make the job go faster and easier, but of course it is also a lot safer. if anything should happen, there is someone with you to call for help and or administer first aid

 

• Stay off the roof
  working from a good quality ladder is a much safer angle for hanging light strings, it also provides better footing than wet or possibly frozen shingles.

 

• Practice ladder safety
   make sure your ladder feet are firmly planted on stable ground.  Use ladder stabilizers, or “wings” whenever possible. They are designed to not only protect the gutters, but make your ladder very steady while your hard at work getting your home ready for the holiday season.

 

• Don’t reach !
  Always stay balanced and centered on your ladder. If something is just out of reach, don’t try and extend yourself,  go down and reset your ladder in a better position to reach your work area.

Remember, your safety is more important, to your loved ones, than any light display could ever be, so,take the extra time, to make sure you are as safe as possible.

Have a safe and happy holiday season from all of us at K2 Roofing. 

 

Posted in Safety category. fall safety, first aid, gutters, holiday lights, holiday season, injuries, ladder, safety, shingles, stabilizers, wings

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 , 9:06 pm and is filed under Safety category.