Electrical & Fire safety

Fire and Burn Prevention

• Fires and burns are the second leading cause of household injuries.  Each year nearly 4,000 people in the U.S. die in home fires.  Thousands of others are injured as a result of fires or accidental burns.  Most of these deaths involve children and elderly adults.  Kitchen accidents, space heaters, chimney fires, faulty electrical wiring, and cigarettes are common causes.  Check your home for fire hazards.  Install smoke detectors on every floor.

Tips on Fire Safety

• Dispose of cigarettes, cigars, and matches carefully.

• Install smoke detectors on each floor of your home and test them often.

• Plan two escape routes from each floor of your home and practice using them.  Be sure you can open doors and windows from the inside without a key.

• Never leave a burning candle or fireplace unattended.

• Don’t place anything that will burn near a furnace, water heater, space heater, or the stove top.

• Don’t use flammable chemicals near appliances with pilot lights.

• Have your furnace and chimney inspected each year.  Some utility companies provide free or low cost inspections.

• Know how to put out kitchen fires.  If a fire occurs, don’t panic.  For oven fires, close the door and turn off the oven.  Use a pot lid to smother a stovetop fire.  Keep a filled ABC-rated fire extinguisher near the kitchen.

• Pay attention when you are cooking.  If you must leave the kitchen turn off all burners.

• Prevent scalds by setting your water heater to 120 degrees or lower.  Anti-scald devices are available for bathtubs or showers.

• Know emergency phone numbers for your area.  In most places it is 911.  Post the number near each telephone.  Teach children the emergency number.

Tips to Protect Children from Fires and Burns

• Teach children not to play with matches or lighters.  Store them out of sight and reach.

• Teach your children what to do if they smell smoke or hear the smoke alarm.

• Have children practice escaping from a fire.

• Never leave young children alone.

• Place pots and pans on the rear burner of the stove and always turn handles inward so they are not accessible to toddlers.

• Keep the cords for crock pots, coffee makers, and deep fryers out of the reach of small children.

Electrical Safety

• While enjoying electric TVs, radios and other appliances, we may forget they can cause shocks and fires.  In 1990, bad plugs, cords, switches, and outlets caused about 13,000 home fires and nearly 200 deaths.  Most electrical fires and injuries can be prevented.  People should take the time to have their electrical systems inspected and learn about electrical safety.

Tips on Electrical Safety

• People who live in homes that are more than 10 years old should consider having the wiring inspected.  If your home is more than 40 years old, an inspection is overdue.  Be sure to consult with your local building inspector before making repairs.

• Never place electric cords under rugs or bedding.  Heat or sparks from these cords could cause a fire.

• Follow the safety tips on new appliances.

• Check electrical cords for signs of wear.  Replace frayed or cracked cords to prevent shocks and fires.

• Check labels on lamps and use the right size bulb.  Check the label on your fuse box and be sure you use the right size fuses.

• Fix electrical problems right away.  If fuses blow often, circuit breakers trip often, switches get hot or people are shocked, something is wrong.

• Cover unused outlets with plastic plugs.

• If a cord has 3-prongs, use it properly.  Don’t remove the extra prong.  The third prong is there because the appliance must be grounded to prevent electrical shocks.

• Take cover during a thunder storm.  If you are indoors, stay away from open windows and doors and use the telephone only in an emergency.  If you are outdoors stay in your car and away from water, trees, and metal objects.  Avoid low areas that might flood in a heavy rain.

• Do not overhaul outlets.  Extension cords shouldn't be used as permanent fixtures in home rebuilding.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters

• A ground fault circuit interrupter or GFCI is a special type of outlet that prevents shocks.  These outlets are recommended for areas where water is used.  Install GFCIs in bathrooms, kitchens (within 6 feet of the sink), laundry areas, garages, basements, outdoor outlets, and around pools, saunas, and hot tubs.  Test these outlets monthly.

For more information

• Fire Prevention: call your local fire department.

• Electrical Safety: call your local utility or an electrical contractor.

Fire Filling Portable Gas

• In incidents reported to NIOSH in the US, fires spontaneously ignited when workers or others attempted to fill portable gasoline containers (gas cans) in the backs of pickup trucks equipped with plastic bed liners or in cars with carpeted surfaces. Serious skin burns and other injuries resulted.

• These fires result from the buildup of static electricity. The insulating effect of the bed liner or carpet prevents the static charged generated by gasoline flowing into the container or other sources from grounding. The discharge of this buildup to the grounded gasoline dispenser nozzle may cause a spark and ignite the gasoline.

• Both ungrounded metal (most hazardous) and plastic gas containers have been involved in these incidents, a NIOSH Hazard ID said.

Recommendations for prevention
Construction workers and others in small businesses who often work withgasoline powered equipment commonly use portable gas containers. Homeowners usegas cans for their land mowers and other equipment.

• Avoid the hazardous practice of leaving the portable gas containers in trucks or cars when refueling

• Before filling, remove the containers from the vehicle and place them on the ground at a safe distance from the vehicle (provides path to dissipate static charge to ground)

• Touch the container with the gas dispenser nozzle before removing the container lid (provides another path to dissipate static charge to ground)

• Keep the nozzle in contact with the container inlet when filling (to dissipate static charge buildup from flow of gasoline)

Additional prevention measures include:

• Manufacturers or retailers - place a hazard label on all plastic liners being sold warning workers not to fill portable gas containers in the bed liner of the truck but always to place the containers on the ground before filling

• Gas stations - display a warning notice near gas pumps to place all portable gas containers on the ground before filling

• Manufacturers - build bed liners that can be grounded to the metal truck, thereby dissipating potential electrostatic charge

Fire Protection Improve

Australia, -- Standards Australia has released an interim standard to assist fire authorities in the selection and development of protective clothing for fire fighters. Fire agencies, the fabric technology industry, manufacturers and union representatives contributed to the development of interim standard AS4967 -- 2001 -- Protective clothing for firefighters -- Requirements and test methods for protective clothing used for structural firefighting. The recently selected New South Wales Fire Brigade uniforms have a garment shell and protective liner for ease of cleaning and long-term maintenance. They conform to the standard. Two other fire clothing standards have also been released --AS 4824 (Int) -- 2001 -- Protective clothing for firefighters -- Requirements and test methods for protective clothing used for wild land firefighting, andAS/NZS 4821 (Int) -- 2000 -- Firefighters' protective footwear. 

A draft revision of the Standards Australia portable fire extinguisher standard is expected later this year.Changes to AS/NZS: 1841 -- Portable fire extinguishers, may include the removal of the "E" fire classification when the extinguishing agent is a conductor of electricity, such as water or a conductive aqueous solution. There is concern about the potential exposure of an operator to electrocution. 

Work continues on a revision of the Standards Australia fire maintenance standard. It is anticipated the revised AS 1851 -- 1995 -- Maintenance of fire protection systems, will be published in the second half of 2002. The existing 16 parts of the standard will be consolidated. It is also anticipated the standard will be referenced in the Building Code of Australia, making it mandatory.

LG Android phone

 LG GW620 handset will be available in stores by the end of February for AED 1,999

I'm not an Android groupie but I think I'm getting there. This is not because I believe everything Google does is gold (I think Wave was a puddle) but because, most of the time, their technology just works. And if you don't believe me, check out LG's GW620. Yes, it uses the Android platform (albeit the older 1.5 v.) and it's honestly one of the easiest no-fuss phones I've used in a while.

 Messaging on this is a breeze with the slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard and its predictive text offers an accurate list of suggestions. Unlike other phones, it won't automatically finish the word for you but rather waits until you choose the option you want. It might seem like more work but I didn't find it a pain in the least. It neatly arranges all your text messages under different contacts (most recent first) which means you don't need to frantically scroll down a mess of texts to find that one with the info you needed.

Menu options are available on three different screens which are accessible with the slide of your finger. But you'll always have the contacts, call log, messaging and main menu icons on the home screen, and there are no menu customisation options.

It has a decent 3-inch resistive touchscreen display and handy SNS Manager (Social Networking Service) that makes sure you're connected to your favourites on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

I've had to force quit apps three times in my two weeks of using the phone. Most of the time I recall that happened when I tried to overload it with having several apps open at once, while another time it froze when a colleague tried to get on to Google Maps.

There is a 5 megapixel camera with flash, a microSD slot, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a useful power button on top that also serves a quick lock option so you don't end up dialling Ali when you carry it in your pocket.

At AED 1,999,  it's not as pricey as most new smartphones but you do get the feeling that it should be more than what it is. Yes, it has the wonderful ensemble of Google apps and you can get more Android goodies from the market, but the user interface feels a bit basic (or too cutesy depending on the home theme selected!) and the design isn't inspiring. But maybe it's because I've seen a fair bit of bells, whistles and flashing lights from other phones in recent months?

LG's focus was obviously on functionality with this model - and there's nothing wrong with that.

Nokia X6 - Ringing in the Tunes

Nokia X6 (16GB) is now available in the UAE for AED 2,100

The Nokia X6 comes with music but should you come a'calling?

The 32GB X6 was first launched at Nokia World in September last year along with N900 Maemo wonder that no one could stop talking about but still managed to get a fair bit of attention with its 3.2" capacitive touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and, more importantly, the Comes With Music service. For the uninitiated, the service allows you to download tracks from a library of four million songs over the course of 12 months for free. Yes, free. 

 After being made available in sixteen other countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa since 2008, Comes With Music recently made its regional debut signing on leading Arabic labels such as Rotana, Melody and Mazzika and offering a selection of Western as well as Arabic music. That in itself deserves applause since Apple has been ignoring the Arab world for a long long time now in terms of opening dedicated iTunes stores with localised content.

To use the service you need to install the Nokia Ovi Player on your PC, which is registered along with your handset, using a special code included within the X6 pack.  I decided to install the entire Ovi Suite, with Player as just one of the components. That didn't go so well since the Ovi Suite is a whopping 93MB file and nearly took my laptop to the happy gadget place in the sky. My second attempt on a heartier desktop was more successful.

The setup process, which requires you to create a dedicated account, is fairly straightforward. Within minutes I was selecting songs like a kid in a ear candy store. The usual Western pop princesses and rock gods aside, I also found tracks from the good ol' Frank, Icelandic wonders Sigur Ros and Niger musicians Etran Finatawa who struck all the right chords at WOMAD Abu Dhabi last year.

While there are no constraints to swapping and transferring music between your registered phone and computer, Windows Media DRM restrictions means that you aren't allowed to burn them on CDs [If you try, you are politely asked to to purchase the selection from Ovi Music]. Fair enough.

Nokia is really trying to carve out a future for itself, and one where it's not necessarily about phones. Ovi Music is impressive but so is the entire Ovi Store with its games, apps and Maps with around 1.5 million downloads a day (read Q&A below).

Moving on to the X6....I suppose I should compare it with the XpressMusic 5800 model, which it's an obvious improvement over, but I've chosen to look at it from a fresh perspective. The X6 is Nokia's first phone to feature a capacitive touchscreen, which is definitely more responsive that its other touchscreen offerings in the market. But it was sluggish at times especially when trying to open multiple menus and apps. I'm also disappointed it doesn't have multi-touch support, which the phone's current Symbian^1 OS doesn't deliver on, or a microSD slot to expand memory which means you're stuck with the 16GB for all your multimedia needs.

Some of the features that impressed however were its built-in stereo speakers that delivered good sound quality from the 192kbps music files downloaded, the 5MP camera that came up with better than expected photos and videos, general ease of use and seamless synchronisation with the Ovi Store so you can get all the apps you need while on the move.

With a price tag of a little over AED 2,000,  the X6 is decent enough if you're comfortable with brand Nokia and want to upgrade to a touchscreen phone. But coupled with the Comes With Music service, it's a good deal, especially if you can't get enough of sweet sweet music.

 

 Frederic Copper-Royer, Music Manager for Nokia Midde East & Africa, answers all our X6 and Nokia Ovi questions:

   

Aside from using a credit card to buy tracks using a user's Ovi account, there are two options for downloading music off Ovi Music - prepaid vouchers and the Comes With Music service. How can people in the UAE get hold of prepaid vouchers?

Today we are including pre-paid vouchers with all of our other music device that do not have the Comes with Music service.

How much will each track cost using the vouchers?

The price per track is 3AED, based on the prices of the tracks when we launched the Nokia Music Store.

How does the X6 cost here in the UAE?

The price of the X6 is 2,100, available now in the market. 

Will both the 16GB and 32GB X6 models be available?

Only the 16GB Nokia X6 Comes with Music is available. 

Other than the X6, are there more Comes With Music Nokia phones launching here this year?

We will be looking at introducing other devices with the service, but for now the focus is on the Nokia X6. 

Moving away from the Ovi Music side of things, how many applications and content items are currently available through the Nokia Ovi Store?

The total apps number is not being disclosed, but considering the scale of the service includes support for more than 100 separate Nokia devices and active users in more than 180 countries, we're seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day through Ovi Store. On average, each registered user has downloaded (12) items from Store since the launch of the service. We're seeing 22 downloads per second, 24/7, with daily highs of 1300 downloads per minute.

Playlist DJ, an application that helps in making playlists according to the mood of the listener, is preloaded on the X6 and there are other music applications such as Shazam amd Midomi available on Ovi Store.

Suffocation, Strugling & Choking

Each year hundreds of people die afterchoking on food or other small items. Most deaths involve infants, toddlers,and the elderly.

Tips to prevent choking and suffocation

• Learn how to use the Heimlich maneuver to remove something stuck in a person’s throat.

• Keep small objects away from toddlers. Anything that is small enough to pass through a toilet paper tube is a choking hazard.

• Place infants on their backs to sleep. Use a firm crib mattress and avoid soft bedding.Remove drawstrings from children’s clothing.

• Don’t serve foods that are hard to chew. Toddlers and some older people have trouble chewing and swallowing foods. Cut fruits and vegetables, hot dogs, and other hard foods into bite-sized pieces.

• Remove doors before throwing out old appliances.

• Keep plastic bags away from children. A thin plastic bag can suffocate a child.

• Keep empty balloons and balloon pieces away from small children.

Water Safety

• Drowning is the sixth leading cause of accidental death.  From 1999 to 2003, 338 Wisconsin residents died as a result of drowning.  Many of these deaths could have been prevented. 

Tips on water safety

• Learn CPR.  This easy-to-learn technique can save the life of someone who has stopped breathing.

• Never place electrical radios, hairdryers, or fans near a sink, bathtub or pool.

Tips to protect young children from waterhazards

• Never leave a child alone near water. Children love to play in water and can drown in a matter of seconds. Keep the toilet lids down and bathroom doors closed. Empty bathtubs and buckets right after use. If outdoors, store pails upside down so they won’t collect rain or snowmelt.

• Teach children to swim and talk to them about water safety.

• Surround pools and hot tubs with a 5-foot fence and install childproof, self-latching gate.

Firearm Safety

• Every two hours a child is killed by a gun. Guns attract children, but they can kill instantly. Children and teens do not fully understand how dangerous guns can be.   Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Wisconsin’s teens. Many suicides are committed with handguns.

Gun owners have a responsibility to besure their guns and ammunition are stored safely.Tips for gun owners:

• Always keep guns unloaded and locked up.

• Store guns and ammunition in separate locked cabinets.

• Keep the keys for gun cabinets hidden or with you at all times.

• Take a gun safety course.

• Talk to your children about gun safety.

• Remove ammunition from guns before storing them.

• Make sure each gun is fitted with a trigger lock.

A Wii-like experience for AED 585?

iGame is available in the UAE for about AED 585 at major electronics stores

Well...not quite. The iGame Family is described as the "world's first TV Games Dock" that allows you to play motion-sensitive games as well as stream music, movies, podcasts and photos on TV using either your iPod or iPhone.

 iGame from UK-based Elonox comes with 10 free games including Firecracker, Sudoku, Tennis, Bowling, Trampoline, Table Tennis, Tanks and Darts (for ages 3+). They aren't going to keep hardcore gamers addicted but, like its name says, the iGame is really one for the family.

I had a six year old and 50+ year old try out the games, which were easy to pick up with helpful (irritating after you've seen the same message more than five times!) visual aids that demonstrated how to use the full motion-controlled wireless remote. 

Adults will probably end up feeling bored in about half an hour of playing since the games aren't exactly challenging, but the company says that additional games can be downloaded through their website with more titles expected later this year.

Comparisons to the Nintendo Wii are inevitable and if you're looking for quality gaming, the iGame isn't for you. 

Hardware-wise, I like the rounded dock that's small enough to sit on your bedside table, while the remote is also impressive - light, easy to handle but with an annoying in-built vibrating feature that makes sure your hands get a free massage with every focused movement.

Despite all my talk of its gaming prowess or lack thereof, I think it's important to look at the iGame as a whole. It was never meant to be a standalone game console, and the fact that it has media centre is a whole other chunky side of it. The quality and connectivity was seamless when I reviewed the product, and really made me want to download more videos on my iPod just so that I could watch it on my large flat TV screen. I think the best way to describe the iGame would be that it extends all the goodness of the iPod/íPhone so that it can do much more.

The best bit? It has a bargain price of AED 585 at the usual electronics stores like Jumbo, Jacky's, i2, CompuMe in the UAE.  It's a great choice if you've got younger kids and don't want to splurge on that AED 1,000+ Wii console for a motion-gaming experience...and the media extras means that everyone wins in the end!