Be Safe, Be Seen This Halloween!

Walk Safely

• Cross the street at corners; use crosswalks and traffic signals when available.
• Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.
• Put electronic devices down and keep heads up and walk, don’t run across the street.
• Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.
• Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
• Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.

Consider attending alternative Halloween/Harvest events.

Many churches, community centers and businesses throughout our region host events in their facilities and/or parking lots to offer a safe alternative to trick-or-treating on residential streets. Each fall, Safe Kids Grand Forks compiles a list of events throughout the region and makes it available on our Facebook page. 

If you know of public Halloween/Harvest events at your agency, church or within your community and you would like Safe Kids Grand Forks to promote them, please contact us at safekids@altru.org.

Kids and Car Safety proudly recognizes Toyota for implementing advanced rear-seat reminder technology in the 2025 Toyota Sienna. This innovative system, using in-cabin radar, will help prevent children from being unknowingly left behind in vehicles, a critical step in reducing hot car deaths and injuries. Approximately 40 children in states across the country needlessly die each year due to hot car incidents, with 88% under the age of 3 years old. This new feature addresses a vital safety concern. Alarmingly, 55% of hot car fatalities involve children who are unknowingly left inside vehicles. Toyota’s new feature addresses this urgent safety concern by utilizing millimeter-wave radar, a special class of radar technology, to detect rear-seat occupants and alert drivers. This innovative technology supports Kids and Car Safety’s mission to promote lifesaving technologies in all vehicles.

Over this past summer, Safe Kids Grand Forks has conducted multiple heatstroke awareness events thanks in part to a grant and supplies we received from State Farm and Safe Kids Worldwide. (insert State Farm logo and heatstroke image) During these demonstrations, parents and caregivers were astounded at the temperature difference between inside and outside the vehicle. This most certainly opened their eyes to the dangers of leaving kids alone in hot cars, either intentionally or unintentionally. This new announcement by Toyota will go a long way in preventing these type of tragedies and we look forward to other automakers following suit.

As Fire Prevention Week  approaches, the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Fire Departments urge residents to make sure their smoke alarms are working   

The theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 6-12, 2024 is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!^TM”

The Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Fire Departments are teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®)—the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week^TM (FPW^TM)  for more than 100 years—to promote this year’s FPW campaign, “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!^TM” The campaign works to educate everyone about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home.

According to NFPA, smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half (54 percent). Meanwhile, roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

“Smoke alarms serve as the first line of defense in a home fire, but they need to be working in order to protect people,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of outreach and advocacy at NFPA. “This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign helps better educate the public about simple but critical steps they can take to make sure their homes have smoke alarms in all the needed locations and that they’re working properly.”

The Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Fire Departments offer these key smoke alarm safety tips and guidelines:

·        Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area (like a hallway), and on each level (including the basement) of the home.

·        Make sure smoke alarms meet the needs of all family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.

·        Test smoke alarms at least once a month by pushing the test button.

·        Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.

For more information about Fire Prevention Week and smoke alarms, visit fpw.org.

2024 Virtual Concussion Symposium

The North Dakota Brain Injury Network held their annual Concussion Symposium on September 13^th. This event consisted of 6 different health care professionals presenting on topics related to brain injuries. Carma and Jed from our office virtually attended the symposium, and they shared some key takeaways they believe everyone should be aware of.