No. 1005

is in the elderly persons that the women far outnumber the men. In all types of
accidental deaths last year, for instance, 900 were in males and 462 in females,
whereas in home accident deaths only, there were 215 male deaths and 315 female

fatalities.

And now let us consider the causes of the accidental deaths in Kansas homes
last year. Falls, as usual, caused most of these fatalities ~- the 1940 total
was 317, with 80 deaths in persons from 80 to 85 years of age. Second in import-
ance were burns and conflagrations, which took a total of 83 lives, and in third
place were the accidental deaths caused by poisons (gas excepted), with a total
of 29 fatalities. Fourth in importance were the accidental deaths caused by
mechanical suffocation, and of the total of 19 fatalities, 17 were in children
less than five years of age -- most of these were babies who were smothered to
death by too many or carelessly arranged bed clothes. Deaths resulting from fire-
arms accidents in the home or its environs totalled 16, and excessive heat was
reported as the cause of 13 fatalities. Seven persons died from the accidental
absorption of poisonous gas in the home. In 46 other fatal home accidents, the
cause of death was not stated.

The following home safety suggestions are based on the home accident deaths
that occurred in Kansas last year: (1) don't wax floors too highly or use the
small appropriately named "throw" rugs; (2) provide adequate lighting in house,
stairways, and basements; (3) keep the floors and stairways clear of toys and
other stumbling hazards; (4) provide roomy play-pens for creeping and toddling
children -- this will prevent many accidental deaths in children less than three
years of age; (5) never start or hurry fires with kerosene or gasoline; (6) pro-
vide screens for use in front of open fires; (7) keep all poisons for medical or
household use in high, out-of-the-way places; (8) see that all gas appliances are
equipped with vents, and have them inspected once yearly; (9) turn handles of
cooking pans to the back of the stove, and never place a pot of hot coffee or tea
near the edge of the table; (10) do not smoke in bed -- keep matches in a safe
place; (11) never keep a loaded gun in the house, or point it in fun; (12) don't
cover a baby with too many or loose bed clothes, pin covers securely to the under-
neath side of the mattress at the foot of the bed, and never use pillows in the
baby's bed.

The above simple, common sense safety suggestions do not represent mere
theories of a safety enthusiast -- they are founded on a study of the 530 home
accident deaths reported to the Kansas State Board of Health last year. Obser-
vance of these suggestions would save many lives.