Category: Safety Blog

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

Here We Go

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  Well, here we go!  We felt we would share a few documents that we have had recent questions about.  From the Standard Response Protocol Change to the Heat Law to Fire Prevention Rules.  The link below is from the National Safety Council and deals with walker and bus safety.

Back to School Safety Checklist – National Safety Council

On behalf of CA BOCES Health and Safety we would like to say, “Job Well Done.”  Have a relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend, stay safe!

Stressed??

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  The end of the summer seems to be the most stressful time of the school year for a lot of us.  Completing projects, designing and coordinating training, reorganizing rooms and finding additional staff all seem to ramp up as we speak.  This week we wanted to attempt to help with some stress relieving resources from OSHA, Very Well Mind, and the Cleveland Clinic.

 

Remember, that at the end of the day most things seem to get accomplished or shortly will after we open our buildings so very often the stress or worry we have/had will be unfounded.  Try to stay calm out there and do something you like to do, often, to help relieve this stress.  Enjoy your day and have a great weekend!

 

Workplace Stress – Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Stress Relief: 18 Highly Effective Strategies for Relieving Stress

20 Ways To Relieve Stress

Back to School Safety Checklist

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Good morning and happy Friday!  This week’s safety snippet is a compilation of different checklists and things to look for as we head closer to opening the school year.  A couple of things we are currently working on that we will push out to the listserv pertain to the following:

Desha’s Law compliance particularly with the Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP) portion

Silica Exposure Plan and Guidance

Transportation Annex template for Building Level Emergency Response Plans

Enjoy your weekend!

Severe Weather Resources

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Good morning and Happy Friday!  This week we wanted to showcase a few severe weather resources that include how to sign up for advance warnings and advisories. This first website is from Cattaraugus County via NYS and is the 333111 Everbridge sign up which gets you access to warnings and advisories from your home county.

NEW YORKERS TO SIGN UP FOR “TRIPLE THREE TRIPLE ONE” EMERGENCY AND WEATHER ALERT TEXT SYSTEM | Cattaraugus County Website

The next resource is from the National Weather Service pertaining to flooding with several hyperlinks to additional weather safety sites.

Severe Weather Awareness – Flood Safety

The final website from the American Red Cross and instructions to download their emergency safety app.

Thunderstorm Safety | American Red Cross

Stay safe and have a great weekend!

Graduation Ceremony Safety

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Good morning and Happy Thursday!  We wanted to get this out as you all are preparing for this weekend’s graduation ceremonies.  The following sites have a few safety and security tips as preparations are finalized with an event safety checklist.

4 Things Your Graduation Security Plan Should Include

School Safety for High School Graduations, Elementary and Middle School Promotion Ceremonies – School SecuritySchool Security

In closing, here are some other final safety reminders: keep your exits and hallways clear, minimize trip hazards by securing cords and cables that go across aisles, keep emergency lanes and access to them clear, deliver a safety message at the beginning of the scenario, and keep exterior doors secure if your ceremony is indoors.

Have a great and safe weekend!