Emergency situations always occur at the most inopportune moments in life. If they were not unexpected, then they probably would not qualify as an emergency. They would just be a planned inconvenience.

The Department of Homeland Security has been extremely busy over the past 9 years and the Ready.gov website is representative of another approach they are utilizing to helping Americans to stay safe and prepare for the worst. At the Ready.gov website you can quickly and easily follow their 3 step process to being prepared for an emergency situation.

Step 1 - Get a Kit!

It is always a good idea to put together a “survival kit” that can be used immediately following an emergency situation. In most cases you will want to pack this kit with food and water rations that will supply you and your family with at least three days of nourishment. The following are items that the Ready.gov website recommend that you include in your basic emergency kit:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers

Step 2 - Make a Plan!

When an emergency strikes, it is very possible that you and your family will not all be together in one location. For this reason, it is important to make a planfor how you will contact each other, where you will meet up, and what your plan is for different situations. ReadyAmerica has created a website that guides you through the process of creating an emergency plan. However, the following are good suggestions to keep in mind as you go through the process:

• Identify an out-of town contact. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
• Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has a cell phone, coins, or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact. If you have a cell phone, program that person(s) as “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in your phone. If you are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know. Make sure to tell your family and friends that you’ve listed them as emergency contacts.
• Teach family members how to use text messaging (also knows as SMS or Short Message Service). Text messages can often get around network disruptions when a phone call might not be able to get through.
• Subscribe to alert services. Many communities now have systems that will send instant text alerts or e-mails to let you know about bad weather, road closings, local emergencies, etc. Sign up by visiting your local Office of Emergency Management web site.

Step 3 - Be Informed!

Depending on what section of the country you live in, you may need to be more prepared and knowledgeable about specific emergencies as compared to others. For instance, if you live in Florida, you could probably care less about preparing for a blizzard like situation. However, you may really be interested in what to do in case of a hurricane. The Ready.gov website has a list of the most common emergency type events that could impact our country ranging from Tornadoes to Nuclear exposure. When time allows, check it out and read up on the emergency situations that seem more appropriate for your region of the country.

Get Your Own Widget!

The following is a widget provided by Homeland Security in conjunction with FEMA and the Ad Council. It provides a “onestop” shop experience for people visiting your website, blogger page, facebook, or myspace accounts. If you would like your own widget, just click on “get and share” and select the correct format and cut and copy the code into your web utility. It is quick and easy and serves as a great resource for your readers.

We hope this information is helpful to our readers at SmartSecurityPeople.com and provides you with a better sense of security for you and your loved ones in the event of an emergency situation. If you know of anyone that would benefit from this knowledge, please be sure to use the Share Tab below to send them a link to this article.

For centuries, churches have always been considered a safe haven, a place where you can check your worries at the door, a respite from all the world’s troubles. However, given the turn of events over the years with random shootings and the like. Is it time for churches to come out from behind their “cloak if invisibility” and respond to the changes within our world for the safety and security of their parishioners?

The following is a statement from a professional in the church safety and security arena:

“I don’t think we have the luxury any longer to rely on faith,” said Bob Cirtin, owner of Safe at Church, a church security consulting firm, and director of the criminal justice program at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo.  “I am a born-again Christian,” he said, “So I understand faith in God and I understand that God can take care of us. But I also understand that God doesn’t always take care of us and God gives us common sense so that we can take care of ourselves.”

While we may not all agree with Mr. Cirtin’s statement, it has been abundantly clear that there has been a silent movement among churches to ensure the safety of their parishioners and also even the pastors depending upon their ability to get people riled up on hot topic issues.

Vaughn Baker, co-founder of Strategos Inc., a Missouri-based church security firm, said that the need for companies like his has increased in recent years.  “Unfortunately, it is a growing industry,” Baker said. “It used to be unthinkable that someone would attack a church. One of the things we have to overcome [with church leaders] is the Big D - denial - not believing it can happen here.”

Our research at SmartSecurityPeople.com has found that most churches believe that they do need some sort of security and safety policy and more than likely will be working on it at some point in the future. However, what we found to be the biggest obstacle for the church leaders is how to protect and safeguard their church from the unknown while also trying to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for parishioners, their families, and guest. It certainly provides for a “catch 22″ scenario and will promote great discussion amongst the congregation and the church leaders.

If you are at a smaller church and are looking for the proper steps to safeguarding your congregation, we encourage you to consider the following:

The Church Security Alliance is an organization that dedicates itself to providing assistance to churches looking to implement a church-wide safety and security policy. There services are not free but they make it pretty simple to purchase their boilerplate policies and manuals. In addition, they provide an online forum for members to discuss safety and security matters pertaining to their church. While services like these are widely available to churches, we encourage churches to also check with their local/regional/state synods and governing boards and networks to try and locate similar programs for free or greatly discounted. Generally, smaller churches are quick to share resources amongst each other if it is for the benefit of the common good.

Larger congregations can certainly utilize the same approach as the smaller churches but since your needs will be different and your resources are expectantly more abundant, you will probably want to enlist the help of a professional security consultant firm that specializes their efforts on church campuses. They will more than likely be able to do a site visit, provide training for your congregation, and follow-up to make sure that everything is going as intended. In addition, these professionals should be current and up-to-date with the most recent challenges large congregations are facing in regard to security and safety. Their experience and knowledge should make implementation of your safety and security program a breeze. However, anyone that is used to doing the work of the church knows that nothing ever comes easy. So be prepared for some challenges along the way.

So, I guess the question is still at hand.. Should Churches Have Security Policies?

SmartSecurityPeople.com thinks the answer is probably going to have to be yes. But, we think it is up to each individual church and congregation to decide what level of security and safety measures they want to implement at their church. Some churches may just post some extra greeters at the door before, during, and after service and consider that to be appropriate while others may adopt a more extensive program and employ armed security to be present at any church function. Even though these approaches are drastically different, they are both currently being used by churches…

What do you think? Should churches have a security policy? To what extent should a church go to safeguard it’s congregation?

The Summer season is in full swing and Fall is just around the corner. As part of our commitment to providing our readers with useful information to keep you safe and secure, we are pleased to offer you the following Home Grilling Safety tips.  Hopefully this information will aide in making your next outside barbecue a smashing success and keep it from involving a visit from the local fire department or emergency ambulance. Enjoy!

• Before using, place your grill at least 10 feet away from other objects, including the house and any shrubs or bushes.(The eaves of houses are notorious for catching on fire from grills)
• Always stay by the grill when cooking.(close proximity of the grill is “ok” as long as you are keeping a watchful eye)
• Only use starter fluid made for barbecue grills when starting a fire in a charcoal grill. (Do not use GAS!!)
• Before using a gas grill, check the connection between the propane tank and the fuel line to be sure it is working properly and not leaking.
• Never use a match to check for leaks.(Should be common sense…) If you detect a leak, immediately turn off the gas. Do not attempt to light the grill again until the leak is fixed.
• Never bring a barbecue grill inside your home or garage. This is both a fire and carbon monoxide poisoning hazard.
• Keep kids and pets well away until grill equipment is completely cool.(Fido always enjoys licking hot hamburger grease from an unsupervised grill!)

Hope our readers find these safety tips useful. If you come up with any other ideas that you would like to share, please feel free to do so in the comment section below!

The following article was written by Jeremy York at HomeSecurityAdvice.com. We are pleased to have Jeremy join SmartSecurityPeople.com and provide an intuitive look at gated communities. If you would like to learn more about Jeremy, please check out his website or follow him on Twitter.

Do You Feel Safer Behind the Gates?

Far too many times it happens: Gates are broken for weeks at a time, security codes to gain access into a complex or community are passed on from one person to another, dare devil kids climb the no-so-tall walls that are supposed to keep them out and security companies hire guards who are careless and could care-less.

So when you choose to live in a gated community is it because you want to feel safer? Of course it is. For the most part, the gates do in fact keep out trespassers. But if you have ever lived in a gated apartment or housing community you can picture this: A car without the code is pulled off to the side, or sitting across the street where they can easily wait and watch for the next person who has the code to open the gate. Unless of course, it’s daytime, when most gated communities leave their gates open until dusk.

Plus, those silly signs say “One car at a time” but everybody who’s lived there knows that’s a bit bogus. You can easily get 3 cars through while the gate is lifted, and if the fourth is trying to creep by, most gates have a security feature within them that senses something in the path and it automatically reopens, only to let the next party train through.

So what can we do to feel safer? Talking to the folks in the clubhouse can sometimes seem pointless however, it’s never a bad idea to express your concerns. Starting neighborhood watches doesn’t always work since apartment style communities is usually temporary living for most families and taking matters into your own hands is out of the question. You can sit there, wait and watch and write down license plate numbers of the cars that do this, however good luck trying to get anyone to do something about this. So again, what can you do to feel safer? Remember this:

Gated communities are supposed to help keep us safer, and the truth is, the term “gated” is false security. There are too many people who have figured out the ways around the gate, walls, codes and guards for us to feel completely safe. Think about it, who has the codes besides the current residents, their friends and family, the mailman, the UPS man, the pizza delivery drivers, the folks in the clubhouse, their friends and families, their delivery drivers, past residents, their friends and family, their delivery drivers, their UPS man, their pizza guy and the other mailman (because they do switch every so often), and the list continues. If you want to feel safer in a gated community, make sure you do extensive research on the complex, the management and the security features/companies all ready set up. Talk about your concerns with other residents, the management team and even the security company. You can never do too much to secure yourself, your loved ones and your possessions.

Most families have a secret stash of cash in their homes that is designated for emergency purposes. However, if your home is like ours, we tend to forget the real reason for the money and are quick to raid it to pay a tip to the pizza man, get some ice cream at DQ, or use it for birthday cards.  Regardless of how you use your stash of cash, it is important that you are keeping it safe and secure in your home and not making it easily available to a would be thief or robber.

The simple solution for securing this bundle of money would be to invest in a safe or vault for your home. For those that would like to consider an alternate solution that would be on the cheaper side, we are sharing with you Frugal Dad’s top seven secret places in your home to hide cash.

Seven Secret Hiding Places for Your Cash

1. In the freezer wrapped in aluminum foil. Save a little styrofoam from the next pack of meat you buy and cut it down to the size of a couple large steaks. Put your cash in a Ziploc bag, stick it between two pieces of the used meat tray and wrap it in aluminum foil. Take a piece of masking tape and write “Scraps - 05/22/2005.” Robbers are not likely to look through the pack, and if they pull back the foil they’ll only see the familiar styrofoam tray and stop.

2. Sandwiched between the cardboard backing of a hard-to-reach picture frame. Most thieves pull back pictures from the wall to see if money is taped to the back, but they aren’t likely to take the time to look behind the glass, the cardboard backing and the picture itself. Use a pen knife to split the cardboard backing into two halves and sandwich the cash in between.

3. Under a piano, entertainment center or anything weighing a couple hundred pounds or more. If you have a hand truck around the house it’s pretty easy to just lift up the corner of a piano and slide an envelope under it. However, a burglar probably won’t be able to lift something this heavy, and would spend his time digging through the drawers or inside of the furniture rather than trying to lift it.

4. Inside a used can of soup. The next time you have soup, open the bottom of the can to empty the contents and the leave the top in tact. Rinse the can thoroughly, then use it to cover your stash of cash hidden inside your pantry. Stack a few cans of soup on top just to make it less convenient for someone to pick it up out of curiosity.

5. Buried in the “soil” of a fake plant. If you have a fake plant, or small tree, in your home, wrap your cash in a Ziploc bag and nest it inside the “soil” of the plant.

6. In hollowed out pages of a book on your book shelf. Using a pen knife or box cutter, carve out a few pages of your least favorite title. Hide your cash inside the book and return it to the book shelf.

7. Inside a kid’s toy hidden in their closet. Kid’s rooms are notoriously messy, and kids are not known for having large sums of money. Take apart an old plastic toy they no longer play with and hide your stash of cash in there. Return the toy to the bottom of the pile of toys in your kids closet, or toy chest, and it should be safe.

At SmartSecurityPeople.com, we don’t necessarily agree with all of these suggestions (kid’s toy.. really?)  but we feel that they are enough to get you thinking about what may work in your home for a hiding place. Also, it should go without saying, but if you are keeping large sums of money around your house you may really want to rethink about taking some of that cash and purchasing a safe or vault. It would prove to be much more beneficial in the long run as opposed to the bottom of a fake plant or under a piano…

Independence day is a celebration of when our country gained it’s freedom from that big island to the east (otherwise known as England). Since that great day in 1776, our forefathers and all the generations to follow have celebrated the 4th of July with a myriad of events. The day is widely popular for parades, family gatherings, and most importantly FIREWORKS!

However, you may not know this but there is another aspect of this holiday that goes unrecognized in most communities.  It is called the Emergency Room Shuffle. Apparently, a good number of self proclaimed backyard “pyrotechnic engineers” gain access to fireworks (and in some cases alcohol - never a good mix) and end up burning off their eyebrows, catching their clothes on fire (resulting in 3rd degree burns) or worse.. they have been known to lose one or more fingers. The good news though is that hospitals across the nation have been dealing with these types of emergencies for years and our staffed and prepared for your holiday festivities to go awry.

In an effort to help our readers avoid the dreaded Emergency Room Shuffle, we have composed the following Firework Safety Tips to help get you through the holiday. Enjoy!

• Always read directions.
• Always have an adult present.
• Use fireworks outdoors only.(should go without saying!)
• Never use near dry grass or other flammable materials.
• Light one at a time.
• Keep a safe distance.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
• Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass containers
• Never experiment or attempt to make your own fireworks.
• Have a bucket of water and a hose handy.
• Never attempt to re-light or “fix” fireworks.
• Do not wear loose fitting clothing.
• Never carry fireworks in your pockets.
• Fireworks are not toys - do not give them to small children.
• Only buy from reliable fireworks sellers.

If you are unsure of the laws in your area governing the use of fireworks, please visit this link for a state-by-state listing.

We hope this information helps our readers at SmartSecurityPeople.com to have a wonderful and safe 4th of July holiday. If you have any additional safety tips for our readers (or bad experiences we can all learn from) please share them below in the comments section.

Spring is upon us and that means that summer is soon to follow. With the warmth of June comes the common annual event of planning a vacation. Many will be flocking to beaches while others will be holing up in their favorite mountain retreat. Regardless of what your vacation destination will be, it is important that you create a simple checklist of things around you can do around your home to ensure that you return to your home in the same manner in which you left it- safe and sound. Regardless of how long you will be away, it is important that your home has the “lived-in” look. Tell-tale signs that are sure to invite burglars are an overgrown lawn, no lights on at night, piled up newspapers or a full mailbox. The following tips should prove to be helpful in keeping your house off of the radar of potential burglars.

• Leave A Radio Turned On- If you have a local all news or talk channel in your area this will be the channel that you will want to choose. Reason being, a burglar will find it hard to distinguish if the voice are coming from the radio or from the people living in the house.
• Cancel The Paper- Call the circulation department and have them hold your paper for the days that you will be away from your house. Don’t wait until the lat minute. Some newspapers require at least 48 hour notice
• Mow The Grass- If you are going to be gone for a short time, just make sure to mow your grass before you leave. If you are going to be gone longer, you will want to ask a friend or relative to come over and mow the lawn periodically.
• Put Your Mail On Hold- This can easily be done via the Postal Service Website or you can stop by the post office and fill out a handy little yellow card.
• Prune Your Shrubbery- You don’t need to finely manicure your entire yard but you need to make sure that all potential entrances(windows & doors) are not obscured.
• Get An Automatic Light Timer- Plug certain lights into this timer so that they turn on and off at different times of the day. These devices are inexpensive and are the most effective at giving your home the lived-in appearance.
• Notify The Police- If you live in a small community, it wouldn’t hurt to let the local authorities know that you will be away. If you live in a big city, you can let them know as well but chances are that it won’t be near as effective.
• Leave An Itinerary- Leave your contact information and an itinerary with a neighbor or relative in case you need to be reached in the event of an emergency.
• Secure Your Home- Just before you leave, double check to make sure all doors and windows are securely locked. Depending on how long you will be away, it also would not hurt to turn off and unplug your appliances. If you are going to be gone for an extended time, turning the water off and turning down the hot water heater would not be a bad idea as well.
• Get All Your Hidden Keys- If you have keys hidden under mats, in flower pots, behind a big rock, or anywhere outside, it would probably be best if you find a more secure place for them. Burglars know all the usual hiding places and will be sure to find them.

Hope this check list is helpful to our readers at SmartSecurityPeople.com as you plan your summer vacations. If you have other tips that you would like to share, please feel free to leave a comment below.

If you are interested in additional information about keeping your home safe and secure please feel free to read our Home Security Guide.

Our ability to cook a warm meal, take regular baths, and possibly do a load of laundry are all things that we take for granted because we do them with ease at this stage in our life. However, “the day” is coming for all of us… The day that we will no longer be able to stay within our own home and provide for our own basic daily care.

I know that many of you reading this are thinking: “who are you kidding, they will never pry me out of my home!” , “I will never get to that point” or “that only happens to people with other disabilities”. For all you optimists out there, I truly hope that “the day” never comes for you and you don’t have to experience leaving the safe and familiar confines of a home in which you have spent most of your years. However, the realist amongst us know that our bodies and minds are not quite like they used to be and that proper planning is in order if we are to prolong the length of time that we can live independently and without moving to assisted living.

So.. what do we do? How can we prepare now to benefit ourselves in the future? Glad you asked! Here are some suggestions:

Take A Look at Your Home!

Seriously.. have you ever looked at your home from the eyes of a more seasoned(old) person? If not, you should host the next local AARP meeting at your home and take an informal survey at the end to find out what challenges your house provides for elderly people. Ok.. you can forgo the AARP meeting but you really need to walk around your house and identify areas of concern. Is your house multi-level? Do you have a large yard that needs extreme amounts of upkeep? Do you live somewhere that gets record levels of snow? How maintenance free is your home? Dependent upon your answer to some of these questions, you may need to make plans for the future to move out of your current home and into something a little more elderly friendly. Single level condos always appear to be in high regard for retired seniors -especially condos located in Florida!.

Analyze Your Family Resources!

We are not talking about money here. (However, we will touch upon that a little later.) How many siblings do you have? What is their health and age in comparison to yours? How many kids do you have? How many boys vs. girls? You may be wondering why you want to take notice of your family but the reason for doing this is because these are the people that are going to be around in your later years and you may need to depend upon them to accomplish some day to day activities. Your own children are usually the ones that are most committed to promoting your good health and welfare. Stereotypically, boys help out with the house and yard maintenance while the girls tend to be focused on your health and nurturing (keeping you clean and well fed). Understanding that your children still have their own commitments and will be unable to stop by all the time, you have to take a look at your other resources to fill the gap and keep your mind sharp. That is where the next suggestion comes in handy…

Take Inventory of Your Friends!

Your friends will be more than glad to help you out as they are able but unless you have very young friends chances are they are at the same point in their life as you are in yours. You will want to keep in close contact with your friends and schedule mutually beneficial social events and functions. This will help to promote good communication habits and it will keep your brain stimulated so that you are less susceptible to Alzheimer’s.

Where is Your Checkbook?

It is unfortunate, but the more money you have the better your chances of avoiding assisted living. When you have monetary resources, you can afford to pay people that will clean out your gutters, mow your grass, shovel the snow, bring food to your door, clean your house, give you a sponge bath, do all the required maintenance around your home, and even tuck you in at night!

Research Senior Monitoring Services!

ADT and other home security service providers are no longer just watching and protecting your homes. They have now branched out and provide senior monitoring services for the elderly. Do you remember those annoying commercials “Help, I have fallen and I can’t get up”. Well, in order for us to not be like those people we will probably want to get some sort of service that allows us to wear a heart pendant to push in emergency situations. If you are can’t afford senior monitoring services, think about doing a one-time $99 investment in a DIY security alarm that has a panic button and call notification feature. Better yet, spend $50 and get a Personal Alert Voice Dialer. It is certainly better than nothing.

Join A Club!

We are not talking about the local Country Club or your favorite Book Club. However, if they provide for good anaerobic exercise, then by all means join away. A Fitness club is what we are referring to. The healthier you keep your body, the longer you will be able to live independently and without assistance. Which naturally feeds into the next suggestion…

Don’t Avoid the Doctor

I have not encountered a single person yet that thoroughly enjoys going to the doctor. Most people try to avoid them like the plague. The truth of the matter though is that as you age there are certain tests and routine check-ups that you need to have completed on a regular basis. For guys, the prostate exam after 40 years of age is always an important one. Regardless, keep you body healthy at all costs. You only get one and you want it to last as long as you can!

SmartSecurityPeople.com may have deviated from our normal line of articles to bring this information to you. However, we care about not only the security of our readers but also your safety and that includes your younger AND older years. So take this information to heart and regardless of your age, start planning now to make sure you live a long and prosperous life and avoid assisted living for as long as humanly possible. However, do know your limitations and when and if the time comes for you to move from your home into an assisted care situation or nursing home, go willingly and know that it is not the end of the world. Think of it as Club Med, just without the beach and margaritas.

Very cold temperatures, like very hot ones, can be hazardous to your health. Proper dress and some sensible practices can prevent a lot of the problems associated with cold weather. In addition, knowing the symptoms of danger and how to treat them can keep problems that do occur from becoming disasters. The American Red Cross recently released the following tips to help provide guidance for surviving the winter season.

GENERAL HAZARDS

The most common hazard in the cold is frostbite. Your body doesn’t get enough heat and the body tissues freeze. Body parts most often affected by frostbite are the nose, ears, cheeks, fingers, and toes.

In very bad cases, frostbite can cause permanent tissue damage and loss of movement in the affected body parts. In the worst cases, you could become unconscious and stop breathing. You could even die of heart failure.

The other cold hazard is hypothermia. That’s what it’s called when you’re exposed to cold so long that your body temperature gets dangerously low. Just like frostbite, the worst case results are unconsciousness and death.

With both cold hazards, you’re more at risk if you’re older, overweight, or have allergies or poor circulation. Other factors that raise the risk are smoking, drinking, and taking medications such as sedatives.

IDENTIFYING HAZARDS

It is very important to know the symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia so that you can do something before it is too late.

Frostbite can occur from being in a cold area or from touching an object whose temperature is below freezing. In many cases, people don’t have any idea that it’s happening. That’s why you have to be familiar with the symptoms.

Frostbite victims usually start by feeling uncomfortably cold, then numb. Sometimes they also get a tingling or aching feeling or a brief pain. The recommended practice is whenever you feel numbness, take action!

Hypothermia can also take you by surprise because you can get it even when the temperature is above freezing. Windy conditions, physical exhaustion, and wet clothing can all make you prone to hypothermia.

With hypothermia, you first feel cold, then pain in the extremities. You’ll shiver, which is how the body tries to raise the temperature.

Other symptoms include numbness, stiffness (especially in the neck, arms, and legs), poor coordination, drowsiness, slow or irregular breathing and heart rate, slurred speech, cool skin, and puffiness in the face.

As you can see, many of these symptoms are not unusual and could mean different things. But if you’re exposed to very cold conditions, take them seriously and take steps to relieve them.

PROTECTION AGAINST HAZARDS

The best way to deal with cold problems is to prevent them in the first place. The most sensible approach is to limit exposure to cold, especially if it’s windy or damp.

If you know you’re going to be in cold conditions, don’t bathe, smoke, or drink, alcohol just before going out.

• Dress for conditions in layers of loose, dry clothes. The most effective mix is cotton or wool underneath, with something waterproof on top.
• Get dried or changed immediately if your clothes do get wet.
• Be sure to cover hands, feet, face, and head. A hat is critical because you can lose up to 40 percent of your body heat if your head isn’t covered.
• Keep moving when you’re in the cold.
• Take regular breaks in warm area. Go where it’s warm any time you start to feel very cold or numb. Drink something warm, as long as it doesn’t contain alcohol or caffeine.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

As you know, prevention doesn’t always work. So it’s important to know what to do if you or someone you’re with shows symptoms of cold problems.

The first thing to do is to get where it’s warm. Get out of any frozen, wet, or tight clothing and into warm clothes or blankets. Drink something warm, decaffeinated, and non-alcoholic.

For hypothermia, call 911 for medical help and keep the person covered with blankets or something similar. Don’t use hot baths, electric blankets, or hot water bottles. Give artificial respiration if necessary and try to keep the person awake and dry.

For frostbite, first be aware of the don’ts:

Don’t rub the body part, or apply a heat lamp or hot water bottle.

Don’t go near a hot stove.

Don’t break any blisters.

Don’t drink caffeine.

Do warm the frozen body part quickly with sheets and blankets or warm (not hot) water.

Once the body part is warm, exercise it-with one exception: Don’t walk on frostbitten feet.

It’s dangerous to underestimate the health hazards you’re exposed to in the cold. But if you take some precautions before you’re exposed and know what symptoms can spell trouble, you substantially reduce your risk.

PROTECT YOURSELF AT HOME

• Be careful with candles - do not use candles for lighting if the power goes out. Use flashlights only.
• Inspect fireplaces and wood stoves yearly - use a sturdy fire screen with lit fires. Burn only wood - never burn paper or pine boughs.
• Use generators correctly -never operate a generator inside your home, including the basement or garage. Do not hook up a generator directly to your home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.
• Prevent frozen pipes - when the weather is very cold outside, open cabinet doors to let warm air circulate around water pipes. Let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe - even at a trickle - helps prevent pipes from freezing because the temperature of the water running through it is above freezing. Keep the thermostat set to a consistent temperature.
• Check smoke alarms once a month by pressing the test button and replace batteries as necessary.
• Don’t overload your electrical outlets.
• Don’t forget your pets - bring them indoors.  If you can’t bring them inside, provide adequate shelter to keep them warm and make sure they can get to unfrozen water.
• If you plan on using an alternate heating source, never use a stove or oven to heat your home.  Keep a glass or metal fire screen around the fireplace and never leave a fireplace fire unattended.  If using a space heater, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to safely use the heater.  Place it on a level, hard, nonflammable surface.  Turn the space heater off when you leave the room or go to sleep.  Keep children and pets away from your space heater and do not use it to dry wet clothing.

We hope these tips help to keep our readers at SmartSecurityPeople.com safe and sound during the winter weather season.

SmartSecurityPeople.com is pleased to provide the following campus safety and security tips for college bound students.

1. Do Not Stroll Around Campus After Hours- If you do, make sure you utilize the buddy system. If you don’t have a buddy available, call someone with your cellphone and talk to them during the walk back to your residence hall.
2. Be Careful Of What You Post On MySpace Or Facebook- Social Online Networking is the greatest and worst thing to hit the campus community. Don’t make yourself a target. Filter what you post on your account and control who has access.
3. Don’t Let Just Anyone In- If your campus has residence halls that have controlled access, please be aware that they do this for a reason. It is to keep bad people out. If you are going into your dorm and someone that you don’t know tries to follow in behind you, shut the door. If you see a suspicious person in your residence hall or on campus, call the security office. They are there to help. You should memorize their number or program it in your phone.
4. Get To Know Your Campus- The first week that you are on campus, you should familiarize yourself with the campus. You will be there for the next 4-5 years, so it will prove to be useful on many levels. Make note of the more common routes, the security phone locations, and the “safe zones” that your campus provides. That is why we also recommend #5….
5. Avoid Shortcuts- Especially after dark! This should go without saying. There is a reason why people are not taking the shortcuts. They are typically not the safest route, have very little to no lighting after dark, and always end up drawing the most unscrupulous of characters. Just avoid them and take the extra time to get to your destination safely.
6. Excessive Alcohol Consumption Is Never Good- I know, I know.. college campuses and alcohol consumption appear to always go hand-in-hand. We are not suggesting that you can not drink. You just need to drink responsibly. If you wake up the next morning and are missing half of your clothing, find a new tattoo and have no idea where you are at… you are probably drinking too much. If keeping yourself safe means drinking a little less, then so be it.
7. Do Not Leave Your Belongings Unattended- Bookbags and purses are the number one items that come up missing on campuses all the time. You may feel as though you can trust your environment and leave your bag at the table when you go to find another research book in the library or get another helping of food from the food court but if you leave your bag unattended you are taking a chance that it will not be there when you return. Take it with you or ask someone nearby to watch your stuff (assuming that you know them or at the very least they look like a trustworthy person). Besides… textbooks are expensive to replace!
8. Share Your Class Schedule With Friends and Family- and no.. don’t post it up on MySpace or Facebook for all to see (refer to #2 above). If your friends and family have your schedule each semester, it gives them a good idea of when they can expect to see or talk with you.  If you are ever going somewhere outside of the normal schedule, let someone know. Also, tell them when you think you may be back. It just makes good sense.
9. Don’t Carry Cash- This should be easy for most college students just because they don’t typically have a lot of cash. However, we at SmartSecurityPeople.com encourage you to keep cash in the bank and use your debit or credit card for your purchases on and off campus. Also, cash under your mattress in your dorm room is a bad idea as well!
10. Visit the Security Office- When you are choosing a college and safety and security is an important factor, stop by the campus security office and ask them for a recent copy of their security report. By law they are required to make these available to everyone that asks. In the report they should have graphs, charts, and statistics showing the number of incidents they have had on campus during the last year. Most reports go back at least five years. While you are stopping by, ask them if they have a safety manual for their students. If they are a reputable security office, they should have something available in a handout or brochure form.

SmartSecurityPeople.com strongly encourages students to follow these Campus Safety and Security tips. We also recognize that while we have only published these ten tips, there are probably a lot more ideas out there amongst our peers. If you have additional suggestions to help out our college bound students, please feel free to share below.