Fall Prevention Week To Feature Free Training Sessions Bookmark and Share

September 25, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 21, 2012 Contact: Julie Rabinowitz, 207-621-5009

Media Advisory: Press are invited to attend the safety training sessions and SafetyWorks! staff will be available for interviews after the training sessions are completed.

SafetyWorks! will offer breakfast and training in five cities across the state for people who work at heights

AUGUSTA?Gov. Paul LePage has recognized the week of October 21?27, 2012, as ?Residential / Construction Fall Prevention Week.? Fall-related injuries are a statewide problem both on and off the job. According to Workers? Compensation data, Mainers suffered 535 job-related ?falls to a lower level? in 2011, one of which was fatal.

Out of the 535 ?falls to a lower level,? 532 were from ladders. This statistic does not reflect people working at home or those who fell but did not have an injury that resulted in a claim filing. National statistics indicate that there are 165,000 injuries from falls from ladders per year (both residential and workplace), with 10 percent resulting in hospitalization.

Falls can be reduced if people use caution in their homes and places of work when climbing ladders or when working in places where falls are a potential hazard. In particular, falls from ladders can be prevented through education that includes planning for their use, inspecting the ladder prior to use and using basic ladder safeguards.

?Everyone benefits when we keep employees safe,? said Commissioner of Labor Jeanne Paquette. ?These workshops offer businesses a no-cost way to invest in their staff, and we encourage employers and anyone interested in working safely to participate in Fall Prevention Week.?

The schedule for Fall Prevention Week is:

  • October 22, 2012 ? Augusta , SafetyWorks! Training Institute
  • October 23, 2012 ? Brewer, Jeff?s Catering
  • October 24, 2012 ? Houlton Recreation Department
  • October 25, 2012 ? South Paris Fire Department
  • October 26, 2012 ? Portland, Season?s Event and Conference Center

All classes are from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and include a complimentary continental breakfast. After the training sessions, SafetyWorks! consultants will visit the local vocational/technical schools to discuss issues related to on-the-job safety. People interested in participating should visit SafetyWorksMaine.com or call the SafetyWorks! program toll-free at 1-877-723-3345 to register by October 17, 2012.

The Fall Prevention Week program is funded by a grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, commonly referred to as OSHA, a program of the U.S. Department of Labor. SafetyWorks! is a program of the Bureau of Labor Standards of the Maine Department of Labor.

While SafetyWorks! helps businesses of any size, priority is given to small businesses. The program, funded through a combination of federal and state resources, trains about 8,000 people and consults at nearly 1,000 worksites in Maine each year.

To request a no-cost workplace safety consultation or learn more about the program, call toll-free 1-877-SAFE 345 (1-877-723-3345) or visit the SafetyWorks! website, www.safetyworksmaine.com .

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