A periodic newsletter of Fall/Winter 2006-07
The Diocese of Syracuse
Risk Management Office
WITH ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR STAFF!
As the warm weather ends and the cold air approaches, it is time to make sure that your boilers are in good working order. Regular, preventative maintenance should be completed annually on all boilers and their supporting machinery, controls, piping and valves. Also, the State of New York inspector, or, your Hartford Insurance inspector, should inspect your boilers and provide a current certificate of inspection every two years. This certificate should be displayed in the boiler room.
The boiler room is NOT a storeroom. The boilers and their supporting equipment should be easily accessible. Using the boiler room for storage takes away from accessibility and increases the potential for fire hazards. No combustible materials should be stored in the boiler rooms.
All elevators should be inspected twice a year to ensure they are being adequately maintained. Also, at least once a year a “load” test should be done. These inspections should be done by an independent inspector who is not involved with, or responsible for, the regular servicing of the elevator. Clear and adequate records should be kept to document that these inspections have been completed. The proper maintenance of parish and school elevators is of great importance. If you have any questions, please contact the Risk Management office.
As Fall and Winter activities pick up in our parishes and schools, we see an increase in the use of our kitchens. The following safety comments often apply to residential kitchens, but also pertain to hazards which may exist in our parish and school kitchens:
Microwave ovens: Smell an overheated, flaming bag of popcorn in the microwave? Do not open the door. Leave the microwave closed and let the fire burn out. Turn the oven off immediately or unplug it. If you open the door, fresh oxygen can feed the fire and cause greater problems. If you try to remove the burning item, you could spread the fire or burn yourself.
Toasters and Toaster Ovens: A Pop-Tart or pizza slice tossed into a toaster or toaster oven can possibly catch fire if the “cook” goes off and forgets what’s cooking. Stay in the kitchen when you are using a small appliance. Make a habit of unplugging the appliance when you finish. Also, when using an appliance, keep the area around it free of towels, paper products and other combustibles.
Storage on Stoves: Do not place anything on a stove unless it is being used for cooking. Knick-knacs, potholders, plates and other items should never be left on a stove. Heat from the electric coils, or flames from the gas could ignite these items. Keep the stoves clean and clear of any unnecessary items. Also, “stand by your pan”. Don’t leave the kitchen while something is cooking on the stove.
Putting out a small fire: If flames burst out within a pan on the stove, the best action is to place a lid on the pan to smother the fire. Then turn off the burner and slide the pan off the heat source, keeping it covered. If no lid is available, sprinkle baking soda on the fire, or carefully use a fire extinguisher from 10 feet away and aim at the base of the fire. Do not hesitate to call the fire department if you have any doubts about being able to contain and extinguish a small pan fire.
SCHOOL SAFETY
We want to remind you that we must continue to keep our schools safe by making sure that any visitors must be identified, and sign in at the main school office. Any visitor must be accompanied by a member of the school staff if their visit calls for them to go to a classroom or any other part of the building. Exterior doors should be locked to anyone trying to get into the building, but they should be unlocked on the inside so that the ability to quickly exit the building exists, in case of emergency. Students should not be allowed outside the building at all, unless it is for a supervised outside activity.
As Winter comes upon us, we remind you that exterior walks, parking lots, and exterior parish and school grounds must be cleared of ice and snow to prevent slip and fall accidents and injuries to students, staff, parishioners and visitors. A daily log should be kept to record when ice melt material or sand is applied. We also recommend logging the times when snow shoveling or plowing was completed. Remember that snow and ice removal, and the logging of this activity, is also very important when the parish and school buildings or grounds are being used at night or on weekends. We also ask that roofs be checked for the accumulation of snow, and any excessive accumulation be removed before it can cause a collapse or otherwise fall onto persons on the ground below.
This is just a reminder that you should immediately advise the Risk Management Office of any auto or property additions and deletions as they occur. For vehicle additions or deletions, please contact Barbara Burgess at 315-470-1495. For any property/building additions or deletions, contact Jim Merrill at 315-470-1496. We are on email too!