Sunday, October 12, 2008

83% of All Accidents


One of my responsibilities as Safety Designate for my library is to create and distribute a quiz regarding emergency procedures. The idea is that an interactive exercise will encourage them to consider their roles in responding to potentially dangerous situations. One of the questions I formulated had to do with proper use of a fire extinguisher on a spontaneously combusting children's book. Even though we aren't Boy Scouts, we should always be prepared, right?

One of my esteemed colleagues informed me that this scenario reminded her of an event from an actual movie (it happens to be her favorite movie of all time.) In the movie, the drummer of a rock band suddenly and without warning was consumed by spontaneous combustion!

As if that isn't bad enough, I realized that two of my sons play drums at our church... behind a Plexiglas screen. (The photo above is the actual drum set they play, with the shield in place.) If either of them were to burst into flame, could anyone reach them in time to put out the fire?

Here's where safety principles learned on the job can be applied at home or church, for immediate and practical benefit. I am going to go out this very afternoon and purchase belt-mounted fire extinguishers for both of my boys to wear every time they play. The extinguishers must be within easy reach at all times, and the only way to do this is to attach them to their physical persons.

Wow. Just think of all the nights of sleep I should have lost over this before I knew there was any possibility of bodily harm. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be percussionists -- unless they've got CO2 belt holsters.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for watching out

Unknown said...

hmmmmmm.....methinks our author is practicing her fiction....

smo :]

Anonymous said...

Giggling the entire time! :-)

Katharine said...

Monica and Stacey, I'm speechless at your attitudes of hilarity. If I read on the internet that a character in the movie went and got combusted, what more evidence should be required? But my source is an Esteemed Librarian -- even better than the faceless internet!

Pete, you're welcome. It's the least I can do.