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Safety Tips

Please choose from the list below which Department's Safety Tips you would like to view.

  1. Check to make sure that your smoke alarms are good working condition yearly
  2. Check to make sure that your carbon monoxide detectors are in good working condition yearly.
  3. Have your heating equipment serviced yearly to make sure CO gases will not be disbursed into your home and that it won’t fail when you need it most.
  4. Make sure side walks and driveways are well lite to prevent falls on wet leaves in the fall and ice in the winter.
  5. When using a portable generator with a transfer switch always keep the generator 10 feet from the house while running and away from windows and doors.
  1. Use PPE when necessary.
  2. Follow Lock out-Tag out policies.
  3. Inspect power tools prior to use.
  4. Always lift heavy items with your legs not your back.
  5. Don’t drive distracted.
  1. Notify Call Before You Dig at 811 or 800-922-4455 before you dig into the ground so underground utilities can be marked out with paint or flags before you dig.  This must be done if you are using any mechanical equipment other than hand tools such as a shovel. 
  2. Slow down when driving through road work zones.   There are men, women and heavy equipment working to improve roads, utilities, sanitary sewers and storm drains and everyone wants to stay safe and no one wants their car damaged. 
  3. Watch for pedestrians when driving.  People often walk on the side of roads and crossing roads.
  4. If you are walking at night, wear bright colored clothes and/or items with reflective strips/patches so you are more visible. 
  5. Don’t dump trash, dog doo, leaves, grass or other waste down the catch basins on the side of the roads.  These lead to the storm drain system that discharges stormwater runoff to streams, ponds and rivers in Town, and any trash or waste put in there could be polluting a large area.   This is not part of the sanitary sewer system.
  1. Always protect your pin when using your debit or ATM card.
  2. Keep all your original financial documents in a lockbox or fire proof box.
  3. Contribute a weekly amount to build your savings account for an emergency situation.
  4. Pay your entire credit card balance monthly.  Even if you make the minimum payment, interest accrues on the entire balance.
  5. Review your tax withholdings annually and submit any changes needed to the Payroll Department.
  1. Learn the sounds of Fire Safety!
    1. Smoke Alarms
    2. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms
    3. Fire Alarms
  2. Install ‘working’ Smoke and CO alarms
    1. Test Monthly
    2. Change batteries (Change Clocks / Change Batteries)
    3. Smoke Alarms generally last approx.. 10 years
    4. CO Alarms generally last approx.. 7 years
  3. Have and Practice Fire Drill/Escape Plan
    1. EDITH – Exit Drills In The Home
    2. Stay LOW
    3. Have a meeting place
    4. NEVER Go Back Inside
  4. Watch your Cooking!
    1. Unattended Cooking Fires is a leading cause of fires in the home
  5. Proper Disposal of Ashes
    1. Use METAL cans and place AWAY from home
    2. Even what appears to be cooled ashes can hold heat for days…never use plastic containers
  1. Home escape plans.
  2. Smoke alarms.
  3. Candles.
  4. Home emergency plan.
  5. Home emergency kits.
  1. Get a COVID vaccine.
  2. Wash your hands often with warm, soapy water.
  3. Wear a mask.
  4. Pump your septic tank every 3-5 years.
  5. Have your well tested for potability every year.

Youth and Family:

  1. Lock your meds up or dispose of them to keep out of the hands of kids.
  2. Talk to your children/teens about the dangers of alcohol and substances.
  3. End the stigma of seeking help for your mental health.
  4. Keep your elementary aged child in the back seat and buckled up.
  5. No text can’t wait. Put your phones away when driving.

Adult and Senior:

  1. Tuck cords for lights and electronics safely out of the way.
  2. Eliminate area rugs to avoid tripping.
  3. Never give personal information including your social security, medicare or bank account numbers over the phone.
  4. Always ask who is at the door before answering it.
  5. Dispose of unwanted meds or lock them up so your grandkids can’t access them.
  1. Consider using reputable antivirus software.
  2. Consider backing up important data and keeping it in a safe/secure location that is separate from your primary computer.
  3. Consider using long passwords or pass phrases with capital letters and special characters.
  4. Consider changing your passwords frequently and do not use the same password for multiple things.
  5. Consider regularly installing patches and updates for hardware and software.  
  1. When you are utilizing our trails, make sure to use the buddy system and be aware of your surroundings. Stick to our main, well marked trails! Don’t try to venture off path if there is no clear trail. 
  2. if you are running, make sure to use only one earbud and remain aware of your surroundings.
  3. Sunscreen, bug spray, and water are all park essentials! 
  4. Bikes yield to pedestrians and travel at a safe speed. When you need to pass someone else recreating, announce “ passing on the left”. 

  5. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children in the us. When we are at a pool it is important to be “water watchers” to prevent drowning. Ensure every member of your family learns to swim so they at least achieve skills of water competency: able to enter the water, get a breath, stay afloat, change position, swim a distance then get out of the water safely.

  1. Do your due diligence and research before purchasing a home or a piece of property to make sure you are aware of any environmental concerns or building code issues that may exist.
  2. Become knowledgeable on the zoning rules related to potential uses of your property (e.g. home occupations, keeping of animals) and requirements for the placement of structures, signs, sheds etc. on your property.
  3. To the extent possible, remove standing water around your property to help reduce mosquito breeding grounds.
  4. Make sure that the placement of any signage, fencing etc. does not interfere with the sight lines for vehicles and/or pedestrians in the surrounding area.
  5. Make sure tree branches, tree limbs, shrubs and grass does not block sidewalks in and around your property.
  1. Secure your valuables and lock your cars and homes overnight.  Set a reminder on your cell phone to cue you to make it part of your end of the day routine. #9pmRoutine
  2. Secure medications and dispose of unwanted/expired medications (a medication disposal box is located in the lobby of police headquarters).  Doing so can go to great lengths to combat addiction, medical emergencies, and fatal overdoses.
  3. Make sure that you protect your personal identifying information and protect your home wireless network(s) with a password.  Every year, dozens of South Windsor residents fall victim to identity theft as a result of scam phone calls, phishing emails, and unsecure personal computing.  If you are unsure about the validity of a particular phone call, email, etc, you should try to independently verify the authenticity of the message.  Do not reply to the message or call the number back.  A little bit of effort in identifying the company’s phone number on your own and contacting them could save you time and money in the long run.  If you are unsure about how to go about securing your home network, call your internet service provider for assistance.
  4. When driving, put down your phone and increase your following distance.  On average the police department investigates between 400 and 500 motor vehicle accidents per year.  The perennial leader in causal factors for these accidents is following too closely.  In addition, pairing your phone to your vehicle’s Bluetooth system will serve to minimize the distractions to you as a driver.   
  5. Secure and store firearms and ammunition in accordance with the law.  Failing to properly store firearms and ammunition can have tragic and life changing consequences.  Gun owners must continually assess the suitability of their household to contain firearms and change their storage procedures accordingly.  As children grow and family situations change, gun owners must be aware that they must adapt and change their storage protocols when necessary.  Negligently storing firearms is a felony.

Public Works

  1. Refuse/recycling containers should not be placed in the roadway.
  2. Refuse/recycling containers should be placed within 3 feet of the curb.
  3. Backyard composting is a sustainable way to dispose of food waste and can divert as much as 30% of your waste from the waste stream.
  4. Thin film plastic, such as plastic shopping bags, should not be disposed of in the blue recycling container.  This type of plastic can be recycled in marked containers located at certain grocery stores or other retailers.
  5. The RecycleCT Wizard is a great tool to use for information on how to properly dispose of various products.  https://www.recyclect.com/

Fleet Services

  1. Invest in snow tires and have them mounted early in the season.
  2. Keep an emergency kit in the vehicle which includes, first aid, jumper cables, thermal blankets and flares.
  3. Whenever possible pull through a parking spot or back in when parking.
  4. Change your wiper blades regularly.
  5. Save the texting for a safer place than behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

Street Services

  1. Slow down for work zones.
  2. Check your back seat when leaving your car.
  3. Wear proper safety gear when operating a chainsaw.
  4. Get CPR certified.
  5. Don’t rake your leaves into the road.
  1. Safe deposit boxes are a good location to keep certified copies of documents like birth certificates or other vital records.
  2. Be sure to properly dispose of paperwork that contains personal information such as date of birth or social security number.
  3. To prevent comprising financial security, do NOT post personal information such as your birthday or social security number on social networking sites.
  4. Be mindful with passwords.  Don’t use personal information in your password that can be found on a publicly accessible space.
  5. Every dog must be licensed when it becomes six months old and then annually in June.  Anyone who becomes an owner of a dog aged six months old or older must license the dog within 30 days of acquisition.
  1. Don’t flush wipes even if they are labeled “flushable.”  Flushable is not pumpable.
  2. Don’t pour fats, oil, or grease (FOG) down the drain.  FOG solidifies in pipes creating blockages.
  3. Keep sewer rights-of-way accessible for routine and emergency maintenance.
  4. Sump pumps and roof leaders should not be connected to the service lateral.
  5. Toilet paper is the only product designed to breakdown in the sewer system, anything else should be disposed of in the trash.