Walk through a complete safety check of your home. We like to call this a “Home Hazard Hunt”

One of the most important things you can do, especially if you live in an older home, is to make sure certain parts of your home comply with the latest residential building codes. Local building codes were created with your family's safety in mind. They were designed to prevent an emergency situation from turning into a disaster, such as a house fire.

Here are some other items you should include as part of your safety check:

- Beds under windows. Move beds out from under windows that may break in the event of an earthquake or falling trees.

- Beds directly below shelves or hanging lights. The lights or objects on shelves could fall on sleepers below.

- Beds below heavy mirrors or framed pictures. Heavy objects on the wall will easily fall during an earthquake.

- Heavy lamps on bedside tables. They could fall over onto sleepers. Fasten lamps securely to tables or replace heavy lamps with light, non-breakable lamps.
Hanging plants in heavy pots. The heavier the pot the more likely it is to fall in an earthquake causing injuries.

- Breakable or heavy objects on shelves. An earthquake could shake them off the shelf. Consider a cabinet with latching doors instead of shelves.

- Loose latches, such as magnetic push latches, on cabinets and cupboards. Cabinets could swing open during an earthquake causing the contents to spill. Replace them with new latches that will hold during an earthquake.

- Glass bottles in medicine cabinets. Put items stored in glass containers on lower shelves or to the back of the cabinet. Some shelves have a shelf railing to prevent items from falling off. Note to parents: make sure you use childproof latches when you move things to lower shelves.

- Glass containers around the bathtub. They could easily break.

- Flammable materials close to heat sources. Painting or cleaning products should be stored in the garage or outside in a shed. Newspaper or cardboard should be recycled or thrown away.

- Heavy or glass objects next to the exits or escape routes in your house. They can block exits and escape routes.

- Objects with wheels. These items could roll during an earthquake. Block the wheels so the object cannot roll.

- Tall, heavy furniture such as bookshelves and china cabinets. Attach furniture securely to the studs in the walls to prevent them from tipping over.

- Heavy appliances such as refrigerators and water heaters. These should be attached to the studs in the walls.

- Dead or diseased tree limbs near the house. Tree limbs could fall and damage the house or hurt people passing by.

- Air conditioners and swamp coolers. Be sure they are well braced to prevent falling.
- Roof tiles. Make sure they are securely in place.

By completing this checklist, your family will have a head start in preparing for a fire, hurricane, tornado, or earthquake and other possible disasters.