Give priority to safety

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we tend to gloss over safety aspects and generally take things for granted. Many a time we get away with unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, but lack of knowledge of what is safe or unsafe to do can land us in dangerous situations.

Rajan, an executive working in Muscat with an international oilfield services company who has recently been transferred from Saudi Arabia, shared one such nightmarish experience.

“Two years ago, it happened,” recalled Rajan. “In my house at Al- Khobar in Saudi Arabia, I had a two-tier bunk bed. My elder daughter would sleep in the lower rung while the younger one, who was seven, used the upper tier. It was a morning and I had left for my work site, far away from the house. My daughters, though awake, were still in bed while my wife was busy in the kitchen.”

Nightmarish moment

Rajan said a ceiling fan located above the bunk bed was running. Suddenly, when the younger daughter moved about playfully, she accidentally came into contact with the whirling steel blade of the fan. In a split second, the blade slit open her head, exposing the brain. Blood splashed all around the room.

“Rushing into the room, my wife almost fainted at the ghastly scene. She and my elder daughter somehow drew courage and alerted me on the mobile. My wife managed to bandage my daughter’s head with cloth and rushed her to hospital.”

Rajan said his daughter was admitted to the Saad Specialist Hospital at Al-Khobar, a highly reputed hospital in the Kingdom. Thousands prayed for her recovery. Miraculously, the child survived the delicate and complex surgery and today, she is normal. “But for my company’s support, I could not have even dreamt of such an expensive treatment.”

Rajan went on, “Please tell your friends to never ever put a bunk bed below a ceiling fan. Either relocate the fan or the bunk bed such that the fan and bed are far, far apart from each other.”

Safety, a family initiative

With space becoming a premium in our homes, the bunk bed culture is fast picking up. We should make doubly sure that our children are not exposed to danger. No one should have to go through the agony the Rajans suffered.

There are many other mishaps that happen every day. Each one of us can come up with a list of near-misses that we have experienced or read about or heard of. All family members should team up to identify unsafe practices and unsafe things in our houses and get them out of the way.

When it comes to apartments, the association members can pool in and periodically take stock of safety aspects. Where ever required, expert advice should be taken.

There is no denying the golden idiom, A stitch in time saves nine. Safety is a 24x7 and 360 degree business and more importantly, an attitude towards life.

COMMENT NOW