Miss Sandy's dress
street on the scooter. Was she

morning in Oklahoma City a mother watched her
old son crawl between the legs of an operating
and apparently fall asleep. When the mother picked
child she noticed burns around his face and stomach;
dy was limp. Frantic, she called the police but a resus-
-citator was unable to revive her baby. He had been electro-

cuted without a sound or spark when he had simultaneously

register.

This accident was termed a
“freak.” Yet this is little consola-
tion to any parent. And the sad
thing is it could have been pre-
vented by one simple precaution—
grounding the set.

Warning: 20,000 Volts
Alarmed by the fatality, the
National Safety Council urged
everyone to ground his set. They
explained that electricity, which
may run as high as 20,000 volts in

a black and white set, strives to
find the shortest route to the
ground. You can provide that

shortest route by running a wire
from the set to a water pipe that
will divert deadly current harm-
lessly into the ground. If the
set develops a short, you're safe.

Despite warnings the “freak”
deaths continue. In Chicago’ a
S-year-old hoy, reaching for a
kitchen cabinet drawer, brushed
against an aluminum stand on
which a TV set was resting. There
was a crackling and he collapsed,
killed by a powerful shock, After-
wards, a professor of electrical
engineering at [linois Institute of
Technology found the set so alive
that it could light a lamp which
was connected with the top plate
of the set. The lamp glowed as if
it had heen plugged into a socket.

Last May a 17-year-old Chicago
girl was sprawled typical teenage
fashion on a couch, watching a
TV near her feet. She stretched
one hand back over her head to
touch a lamp on an end table. At
the same time she rubbed her bare

toe on the metal television cabinet, |

making herself a current) carrier
between the set and lamp. Her
lifeless body was found later by
her twin sister she returned
from a date.

Avoid Tragedy

If you want to avoid the possi-
bility of a like tragedy, have a
serviceman ground your set, urges

as

touched the metal case of the shock-ridden set and a floor

Gordon O’Neill, an engineer and
senior consultant of NSC’s Home
Safety Department. “It's a cheap
precaution and a needed one. Al-
though your set is in good work-
ing order now, any number of
things can cause it to become
defective and produce a shock.”
Electrocution, however, is not
the only danger from a TV set.
This electric marvel, like all other

appliances, can kindle a fire before
your eyes or when you think
you're safe asleep.

The National Board of Fire

Underwriters, concerned over the
number of fires originating in TV
sets, has urged set owners to be

more wary of the sets. Never
leave it running unattended,
warns NBFU, and _ especially

don't go to bed when it is on.
In Cohoes, N.Y., two persons
after a night of TV watching re-

| tired to the bedroom, and neglec-

ted to turn off the converter on
the top of their set. During the
night it overheated and ignited
the set. Flames spread to other
furnishings and lethal fumes
flowed undetected into an adjoin-
ing bedroom where the two per-
sons slept. By the time neighbors
spotted the fire, about 4.30 a.m.,
the two were already asphyxiated,
Don’t “Suffocate’’ Set

You also create TV fire hazard
if you place the set in a-tight area
where it can’t get air. TV's gener-
ate a lot of heat, and consequently
have ventilating openings to keep
the temperature low. If you block
a set's air passages, your set may

become so hot it will ‘spark,
smolder and finally burst into
flame.

Fencing sets in has sent TV

fires upward according to a recent
survey. A check in 46 cities
showed that “suffocated” TV sets
were Causing cight times as many
fires as Christinas-tree wiring set-
ups.

30-foot

| precautions,

The antenna can also be a killer
for the do-it-yourselfer who
thinks he can install it or repair
it as well as a professional service-
man. He is often tragically mis-
taken. A typical case is that of a
faimnily—father, son and daughter
—who were taking down an an-
tenna in the hack yard to replace
arms for better reception. The
antenna was supported on a
steel pipe set in the
ground close to a 7,600 volt dis-
tribution line. Father and son were
lowering the mast while the
daughter was trying to control
the top with a guy wire.

Suddenly, the antenna tumbled
out of control, letting an antenna
arm touch the power wire. The
father and son were killed; the

girl was miraculously knocked
free.

Picture tubes are under tre-
mendous pressure, like a bottle

with air removed. If you damage
it or mishandle it, it may im-
plode—that is, the glass is slowly
sucked inward and then shoots
outward spraying dagger sharp
pieces as far as 20 feet.

In California, an expectant
mother was cleaning a room
where a TV set was being re-
paired, Somehow a sweeper handle
fell against the neck of a TV
picture tube. The tube imploded.
One sharp piece pierced the
woman's abdomen, causing her to
lose her baby and injuring ber
seriously. The force was so great,
glass splinters were imbedded in
the furniture.

All told, your TV is a complex
appliance that demands certain
Remember: it can

kill, you; so don't take chances
with it.

Here are four simple safeguards
to follow: (1) Have the set

grounded to prevent electrocution;
(2) to avoid fires provide good
ventilation for the set and don’t
leave it on unattended; (3)
ground the antenna to avoid
lightning damage; (4) leave the
repairing to a competent, high-
grade serviceman.

If everyone followed this advice,
our TV tragedies would be con-
fined to the screen where they
belong.

Reprinted National Safety Council

"Freak Squeaks ”

In 1959

Miss June Sandy, a_ highly
proper young lady of 17, was
riding her bike demurely down
the crowded main street of highly

proper Whitstable, England on a
busy Saturday afternoon when a

passing motor scooter brushed
against her. Whoosh! There went
down the

embarrassed!
one * *
oreau, of Hampton, S.C.,
rstandably skeptical
wife explained away a
fender of the family
ie that a house had
She wasn’t: kidding.

‘Machiele was in the bathtub when

Schechter’s windshield,
* * *

Every golfer is always hoping

for a birdie. But Buddy Graham,

of Huntington, W. Va., got not
one hut two when his booming
drive brought down a couple of
sparrows who didn’t even belong
to the club. ‘

* * *

The last thing in the world Mrs.
Florence Hill, of Denver, planned
to do was what she did do. You
never know. Entering the kitchen
to see why her dog was barking,
Mrs. Hill switched on the light
to find herself face to face with
a mouse that seemed just as
startled as she was. She opened
her mouth wide to scream. The

|} mouse jumped in. She swallowed.
|'That did it. Moral: Always keep
jyour trap shut.

* Es *

In Zealand, “Mich, Richard

ne orang. He hopped
mat, ved, cracked his

painfully | the lady commented dubiously.

acres,”

Time Out

“What do you do?” a federal
efficiency expert asked a Wash-
ington, D.C., clerk.

“I loaf,” snapped the irritated
clerk.

The efficiency man moved to

another desk aad repeated his
question,

“Loaf!” said the second clerk,
getting into the spirit of the
thing. |

The efficency expert opened his
notebook. “Duplication of jobs,”
he wrote solemnly.

a * *

At a dinner party one evening
a lady was introduced to a tall
rangy Texan.

“Oh, are you one of those rich
Texans I’ve heard so much
about?" gushed the lady.

“Wal, ah guess so,” answered
the other,

“Tell me, are you an oil man?”
“Nope.” :
“Cattle?”

“No, ma’am,”
“How about real estate?”
“Wal, I reckon. I have about 36

“That doesn’t sound like much,”

DEAD - - -

Occupation: Chokerman.
Age: 35 years.
Experience: 5 years.

The Superintendent and the hooktender were pulling slack in a
skyline with the haulback close to the home tree, in preparation to

taking a new tail hold with the skyline.

Three chokermen were left at the cold deck and instructed to
get in the clear as they were in the bight of the siwashed haulback.
When the Engineer went ahead on the haulback, on signal and
the line tightened, it straightened and struck a chokerman who had
seated himself high on the cold deck and in the bight. He was killed

instantly.

BRITISH COLUMBIA
WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION BOARD

if Your TV Set
Catches Fire |

@ Disconnect the set by pulling
the plug.

® Be careful of electrical shock
because the condenser may
still retain a charge.

© Don’t touch metal parts of

the set nor stand in front of @

it.
® Cover the set as soon as pos-

sible with a rug or heavy
blanket. This will not only
help smother the fire, but
contain the glass if the pic-
ture tube implodes, splatter-
ing glass.

Put out the fire only with an
extinguisher designed for
electrical fires.

or

Antidote

Accidents

Often we say “we want a safe operation”
when we really mean, “I don’t want to get hurt.”

We say, “Somebody should do something
about safety,” when we mean, “I should do some-
thing to correct hazards.” If wishes were action,

safety would be assured.

Don’t overlook the threats — take a second

(oat.

Don’t ignore the risks—give a second thought.

Do something for safety.

WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION BOARD :
of: BRITISH COLUMBIA |

*