Category: Safety Blog

Heart Healthy Month

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Good afternoon and Happy Friday!!  This week we celebrate National Heart Health month with some resources to help keep you and your crew healthy.

 

Hands-Only CPR Resources | American Heart Association CPR & First Aid

Hands Only CPR Video – Live Training Version

Warning Signs of a Heart Attack | American Heart Association

American Heart Month Communications Toolkit | Heart Disease | CDC

 

Have a great weekend everyone and stay safe (and warm)!

Cold Safety

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Good morning and Happy Friday!!  As the winter drags on we felt we would hit on some safety topics for those of us who enjoy being out there and work out in the elements.  The resource links are from NYS DEC, CDC, and OSHA.  They cover everything from how to be safe when hiking outdoors as well as how to dress for the elements and recognize the signs of cold stress.

Winter Hiking Safety – NYSDEC

Cold Stress Guide | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Cold and Work: Types, Causes, Preparation | Cold Stress | CDC

Enjoy your day and have a great weekend!

Inspection Wrap-up

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  We are wrapping up “Fire Inspection Season” and we thought we would share some of the common non-conformances that we see, feel free to share with your buildings’ administration.  We want to thank you all for guiding us through your schools and it shows that you have pride in your districts as things overall were very good.

A couple of things that are not fire code issues, but OSHA concerns, were eye wash stations, anchorage of machinery, and grinder guards/wheels.  The other thing you may want to spot check is your Lockout/Tagout Procedures.

29-CFR-1910-ANSI-Eyewash-Requiments.pdf

1910.215 – Abrasive wheel machinery. | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) – Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

1910.212 – General requirements for all machines. | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

On behalf of CA BOCES Health and Safety we want to wish all of you and your families a Happy Holiday Season!

Holiday Safety

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  We have been busy spreading holiday cheer during fire inspection season and now that we are winding down, the Safety Snippets are back.  This week we focus on Holiday and Winter Safety.  Stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

15 Holiday Safety Tips | FEMA.gov

Carbon Monoxide Safety

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  This week’s focus is going to be Carbon Monoxide.  The resources this week are from the EPA with explanations on what Carbon Monoxide is, where to mount your detectors, and how to protect your family from this odorless, tasteless product of incomplete combustion.

Where should I place a carbon monoxide detector? | US EPA

One of the best ways to protect you and your family is to have your fuel burning appliances serviced on an annual basis and have carbon monoxide detectors in your home.  Stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

National Fire Prevention Day!

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Good morning!  We thought we would send out our safety snippet today in honor of National Fire Prevention Day!  We wanted to focus this snippet on your own home’s fire safety.  The first link is from First Alert with placement advice for Carbon Monoxide and Smoke/Heat Detectors.

Proper Placement for Smoke Alarms, CO Alarms and Fire Extinguishers

This NFPA link is how to create a home fire safety escape plan which you may commonly hear referred to as E.D.I.T.H. (Exit Drills In The Home).

How to make a home fire escape plan | NFPA

The final link is from the “Firefighter Garage” with most common causes of home fires and how to address/minimize those risks.

14 Most Common Causes of House Fires (2025)

Please keep an eye out for emails from us regarding scheduling fire inspections.  We will send out a list of what documents we are required to see, and we want to see those prior to our visit so if anything is missing or there are issues, we can correct those prior to the inspection date.  Inspection season starts on November 15th and concludes on 12/31.  Any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out.  We have attached the NYSED Fire Safety Manual for your reference.  Enjoy your day and have a great weekend!

Fire Prevention Month

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  October is Fire Prevention Month with Fire Prevention Week kicking off next week.  Each week this month we will focus on fire prevention, fire safety and tips/requirements to get you ready for the start of annual fire inspections which begin on November 15th.

If you have not heard, earlier this week, New York State implemented a temporary burn ban until October 15th and at that time will re-evaluate conditions to either end the ban or continue it.

 

The link below is the go-to place for all things fire prevention from the NFPA and the attachment is a review on fire extinguishers.  Enjoy your weekend and stay safe!

Home Fire Safety

Product Safety – Staff and Bringing Home Stuff to School

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  Now that we are starting to settle in for the school year this question comes up very frequently.  Obviously, the best course of action would be to remind teachers and staff not to bring in electrical equipment, furniture, drapery, and other goods that may not meet flammability or national testing standards.  However, there are a few resources that can help you verify that products do meet safety standards.  Here are a few different sites:

Product iQ | UL Solutions aids searching the product to see if it is UL Listed and Labeled.  It will indicate whether UL tested the product or any of OSHA’s accepted testing labs.

OSHA’s Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) Program | Occupational Safety and Health Administration contains all approved third-party testing labs, e.g. ETL is the big one you will see on electrical equipment.

Fire Code for Walls and Corridors

807.5.5.2 Artwork in corridors. Artwork and teaching
materials shall be limited on walls of corridors to not
more than 20 percent of the wall area.

807.5.5.3 Artwork in classrooms. Artwork and teaching materials shall be limited on walls of classrooms to
not more than 50 percent of the specific wall area to
which they are attached.

OSHA Workstation eTool

eTools : Computer Workstations | Occupational Safety and Health Administration this helps assess staff’s workstations to minimize ergonomic issues.  Most desks are designed with ergonomics in mind but when staff bring in their own chairs/desks, they can be putting themselves at risk.

Furniture

What is California Cal 117-2013 and how does it affect furniture – Richardson Seating

If you have any questions regarding product safety, please do not hesitate to reach out to CA BOCES Health and Safety so we can do the research for you and be the bad guys.  The PDF is a case review that we did for a district regarding area rugs/carpets and has a resource we use for those goods.

Playground Safety

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  This week’s Safety Snippet discusses playground safety.  This week’s resource links are from Head Start and Safe Kids Worldwide.  The documents are from the CDS, National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness, and Consumer Product Safety Commission.  Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Playground Safety Tips (PDF) |Safe Kids Worldwide

Resources for Safe Playgrounds | HeadStart.gov

Public Playground Safety Handbookopens PDF file