Safety and Security: a survival checklist

Safety and Security: a survival checklist

Whether we are assailed by drought, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, land-slides or violent assaults, never a day passes without some kind of traumatic crisis somewhere in the world, often uncomfortably nearby. In many cases, the crises were unpredictable or unpreventable, such as the 2004 Tsunami, the recent 2018 Lombok earthquakes or Japanese floods. In other cases, these crises could have been avoided, such as the stranded Wild Boar football team in a Chiang Rai cave, or the drowning of 47 tourists venturing out to sea in Phuket during a gale-force storm.

Whatever the situation, some prior thinking and cautionary consideration of risks involved can eliminate or, at least, mitigate damage, loss of life, and potential cost arising from emergency solutions.

Whether one is acting alone, for one's own safety, protecting one's family or associates, or taking charge of students, workforce or other extended community groups, careful planning and systematic action can often prevent crisis altogether or reduce its impact. Making vigilance a habit and a 24/7/365 routine can greatly reduce costly damage, injury and loss of life. Unfortunately most people adopt only short-term precautions, if any at all, and then revert to careless habits.

The practice of alertness regarding security and safety ought to be part of universal general education, reinforced at every stage of the instructional process. Almost universally such issues are disregarded, allowing incidents and accidents to proliferate and lives lost. The following checklist represents a few of the more obvious and common preventable risk elements. The list could be multiplied a hundred times, and still be incomplete.

In successive articles, we will attempt to cover some of the common, preventable risks arising in the home, in public places, in travel situations, and in work places.

Safety and Security in the home

Ensuring safety at home is a logical starting point for the risk-averse:

- Floor-levels ought to be the safest place, but can often be the most dangerous locations. Highly-polished surfaces can cause people to slip, and carpet coverings can be tripped over, causing falls. A less-polished, totally-carpeted or else uncarpeted surface is often the safest. Small steps often cause guests or even home-occupiers to fall. They should be clearly marked, or, better still, eliminated altogether.

- Large or heavy, sharp or fragile objects should never be positioned where they can be dislodged, especially by children at play. This is particularly the case when they have mats or runners beneath them, that can be dragged down, along with the objects themselves.

- Kitchens are high-risk locations. Many fires are caused by refrigerator faults, notably a disastrous London fire which killed many people. This originated in a deep-freezer located in one of the residential units. Gas canisters are also high-risk, causing many fires and devastating explosions. Normally banned from high-rise buildings, they must always be located at a distance from exposed flames, and securely closed at the tank itself when not in use.

- Utensils such as hot pots or kettles, knives or other sharp cutting devices, should always be stored securely, unreachable by children. Boxes of matches are best eliminated from the household altogether.

- Electricity is indispensable but always high-risk. Many fires commence with electrical faults. Exposed wires can be attacked by pests, but concealed wires can deteriorate unnoticed. Most dangerous of all are exposed plugs, where children's little fingers can cause damage both to the installation and, more perilously, to the children themselves. It is better to position plugs high up from floor level. That is particularly important at ground floor-levels, where flood waters are an increasing risk. Overall, electric circuits should always have cut-out switches with circuit-breakers automatically functioning at times of risk. Every live electrical plug should be accompanied by a switch, clearly marked "on/off".

- Bathrooms are frequent locations for accidents, especially for the youngest or elderly people. Floors are the most dangerous places, with many cases of slipping and consequent injuries to limbs or heads. Non-slip tiles are essential and if there are bath mats at all, these should be even less slippery than the floors they cover. Water showers can be electrical hazards. Boiling water can cause scalding injuries. It is surprising how many people drown in bath-tubs. A solution is low-positioned drain-holes, but to protect children, nothing adequately replaces direct supervision at bath-time.

- Stairways convey peril and, naturally enough, more people fall down them than are injured ascending them. As with floors, stairs should be non-slip, with the edge of each stair clearly marked. A secure, easily-reached handrail is needed on at least one side of the staircase. The entire stairway needs to be well-lit, preferably by natural daylight. Unfortunately many architects ignore such basic rules, so particular caution is necessary. Traditional "feng shui" rules prohibit bedroom doors from being directly opposite stairways. This is intended to discourage the bedridden from dying and thereby having their coffins carried straight down the stairway. But it also offers the practical logic of preventing people from falling from a doorway straight down the stairs.

- Bedrooms, like other locations, present particular risk of slipping on bedside mats, which should be non-slip or avoided altogether. Some people fall out of bed, so a soft carpet landing can help to avoid injury.

- Overall, households need to assure the securing of all doors and windows especially at ground level. Burglaries tend to be less common in Thailand than many other countries, mainly because houses are seldom left unattended. An empty house is an invitation for uninvited guests. If a home does have to be left empty for any extended time, then valuable items should be stored in unlikely places. Thieves seldom seek jewellery in a bread-bin or a children's toy cupboard. They are more likely to break open a locked drawer. Whether one lives in a condominium or house, one should always close off main switches for electricity and water before departure. This avoids leakages but can present problems for refrigerators, which may therefore require a separate electrical circuit. However refrigerators and deep freezers are major fire risk sources, so a longer term absence may require emptying and immobilizing such equipment while one is away from home.

- Given the greater preponderance of flooding in today's Thailand, it is good to bear in mind that traditional Thai houses were built on stilts, so that flood waters did not reach high enough to be destructive of property. Keeping one's valuable items, especially books and documents, in upstairs locations, is always advisable. Flood waters seldom reach beyond three metres in height, and most upper floors should exceed that limit.

In subsequent articles, we will venture beyond the household, into the riskier world beyond, to discuss how to protect ourselves from the dangers that lurk awaiting the unwary.


Series editor: Christopher F. Bruton is Executive Director of Dataconsult Ltd, chris@dataconsult.co.th. Dataconsult's Thailand Regional Forum provides seminars and extensive documentation to guide business on future trends in Thailand and in the Mekong Region.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT