Stocked Up and Safe at Home
How to Be Equipped And Ready if the Unthinkable Strikes

By Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 5, 2008

Whenever winds knock out the electricity in rural St. Mary's County, the lights stay on and the fridge keeps humming at Jackie St. Clair's waterfront home, thanks to an emergency generator out back.

If a tornado warning sounds, she's ready for that, too. There's a "safe room" in the basement, about 12 feet square made of reinforced concrete.

"It's basically built like a bank vault," said St. Clair, a volunteer for the Southern Maryland chapter of the American Red Cross.

Her motto: "You can never have enough preparation."

In this unpredictable world, where danger lurks in far too many places, home can be a sanctuary -- that is, until the unpredictable happens.

Fires. Scalding tap water. Poisonings. Tornadoes. Electrical outages. Floods.

They kill. They maim. They turn lives upside down.

Emergency and safety experts say there are plenty of products, cheap or expensive, that can make homes safer or more tolerable in bad situations.

Here are some:

Power Precautions

When fallen trees, freezing rain or howling winds knock out electrical lines, the lights aren't the only thing to go. The refrigerator and freezer may hold hundreds of dollars' worth of groceries. Air conditioning makes hot, steamy days easier.

· Generators can keep things running. There are portable ones that run on gasoline and cost about $600 to $1,100 and stationary ones that run on propane or gas and generally range from about $2,500 to $8,000. Briggs & Stratton has a 12,000-watt stationary unit for about $4,500 that dials your phone with a recorded message to let you know when there's a malfunction. Safety experts warn not to run portable generators indoors.

· Whole-house battery backup systems are an alternative to generators. A 2,000- to 4,000-watt system can provide electricity for two to 12 hours, but that can vary depending on other factors, according to ToolBase Services, which provides technical information to the building industry. The cost of the battery system ranges from less than $1,000 to $5,000.

· LED emergency lights use less power than regular light bulbs and go on when the electricity cuts out. The LED Light ( http://theledlight.com) sells a double emergency power light that runs six to eight hours on a fully charged six-volt battery, for $235.95. The company also carries a combined LED flashlight and lantern that runs on two AAA batteries for $25. Other stores sell similar products. For an old-fashioned approach to lighting, consider kerosene lamps, which are available for about $60.

Beware of Fire

Fire claimed the lives of more than 3,245 people in 2006 in the United States. More than 80 percent of those deaths occurred in homes, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

· Smoke alarms are a must. So are carbon monoxide detectors. Some companies sell units with both functions; for instance, there's a Kidde unit for about $40. Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council in Washington, said smoke alarms should be placed on every floor and in each bedroom. For children, there are special smoke alarms that sound off with recordings of a parent's voice. Some detectors are wired together so that when one sounds, they all do. The council suggests installing at least one carbon monoxide detector in the home, preferably outside the bedrooms.

· Home sprinkler systems are becoming more common, particularly in higher-end homes. The Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office says some jurisdictions, including Montgomery and Prince George's counties, require sprinkler systems in new homes. The price is usually about 1 percent of the building cost, twice that for existing homes. The Virginia Department of Fire Programs and the D.C. Fire Department recommend sprinkler systems in homes, even in areas where the law doesn't require them. Newer multifamily buildings are generally required to have these systems.

· Ladders are useful for escaping through the windows in life-or-death situations. Some stores sell fold-up ladders that attach to windows or can be stored under a bed. Home Depot sells a 15-foot one for about $80.

· Fire e xtinguishers are recommended. Most house fires start in the kitchen, though the Home Safety Council advises against using an extinguisher on a pan fire. (Smother it with a pan lid instead.) Prices for extinguishers generally range from $16 to $60. Home Depot sells a HomeHero extinguisher for $24.97. It's "good-looking enough" to sit on the kitchen counter, says spokeswoman Jean Niemi. The home-improvement chain operates an emergency-response center during hurricane season to dispense products.

Anticipating Accidents

Safety precautions in the home matter. In 2006, 29 children younger than 6 died from poisoning, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Additionally, the center reported more than 700 serious poisoning incidents involving young children and more than 400,000 minor cases.

About 3,800 people are burned each year by scalding tap water and more than 30 die, according to the Home Safety Council. Falls also account for a frightening number of injuries and deaths. In 2005, more than 15,800 people 65 or older died of fall-related injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 1.8 million fell and were treated in emergency departments.

· Childproof locks on cabinets can prevent children from swallowing a cleaning chemical or a prescription medicine. Many locks go for less than $10.

· A nti-scalding devices can prevent burns. American Valve and other companies sell anti-scalding devices. American Valve sells the H2otStop for showers and bathtubs; it cuts off water flow when the temperature gets too high. The primary distributor is Lowe's, and the products sell for less than $25. Another way to prevent scalding is to adjust the temperature in the water heater; the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends 120 degrees.

· Grab bars can be installed around bathtubs, showers and toilets to prevent falls. Bars range in size from 12 to 24 inches; prices are about $35 to $60 at Lowe's.

Nature's Worst

The natural world isn't always friendly, either. Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and thunderstorms kill people and cause hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of damage every year.

· Storm-resistant windows and doors are particularly good in homes near the water or in areas susceptible to rough weather. DuPont makes a shatter-resistant glass product, SentryGlas, for windows and doors. It cracks but doesn't shatter. The company said the cost is 25 to 100 percent above the price of a regular window, depending on size and strength.

· Chain saws are handy after storms to clear away fallen trees, brush, limbs and other materials. Prices generally range from about $50 to $300.

· Backup propane is recommended to run the grill or keep the generator going.

· Sump pumps are a wise investment for homes with basements that are prone to flooding. The cost of the pump ranges from about $85 to $470, but installation can vary even more dramatically, depending on the amount of work involved.

· Safe rooms offer shelter in dangerous times. Some people rely on a spot in the basement for safety. But others, such as Jackie St. Clair of St. Mary's County, have gone a step further by building concrete safe rooms.

Along those lines, DuPont has come out with a crush-resistant Kevlar safe room, made of the same fiber used in bullet-resistant vests. The room, which can be installed on a concrete floor in the basement or ground floor, is designed to withstand crushing weight equivalent to a fully loaded, 70,000-pound tractor-trailer. The rooms come in different sizes. A 4-by-6-foot room, for example, costs about $6,000, including installation.

Simple Supplies

When the storm moves in, when the electricity goes out, when the snow piles high, it's a good idea to have a supply of the essentials.

· Water is a big must. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends storing at least one gallon of bottled water per person per day for three days. The International Bottled Water Association suggests storing water at room temperature and away from solvents and chemicals such as paint thinner. If you store tap water in containers, it recommends first rinsing them out with a diluted chlorine solution.

· Canned goods and freeze-dried foods should be stored in dry places or sealed containers.

· A survival kit should be stored in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Inside, have a flashlight, a battery-operated or hand-cranked radio, duct tape, garbage bags, work gloves, rope, disinfectant, and a first-aid kit. It's also good to have a plug-in telephone with a cord -- cordless phones won't work when the power goes out, and cellphone systems may be overloaded in emergencies.