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CLOUDY Temp: 61 °F Wind: WNW at 5 mph Monday, September 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 6, 2003 Child-seat clinic slated for today Firefighters prepared to check installation and correct problems By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Roughly 95 percent of child-safety seats in Jackson County aren’t installed correctly, say emergency-service workers trained to check the seats. Medford firefighters will have a clinic to check seats today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the north Fred Meyer, 2424 Crater Lake Highway. They want to inspect 200 safety seats — a feat that will give them a state record for the number of seats checked in one clinic, said Debi Bisbee, a fire inspector and safety program coordinator. "If we check 200 seats, we expect 180 to 190 to be installed incorrectly," she said. Nationwide, four out of every five seats are installed incorrectly, but Southern Oregon parents do even worse than the national average, Bisbee said. Advertisement The two most common mistakes are the seat not belted into the vehicle tightly enough and the child not buckled into the seat tightly enough, she said. A seat, when belted in correctly, shouldn’t move more than 1 inch in any direction, Bisbee said. When a child is correctly buckled in, the belts and harnesses should be tight enough they can’t be grasped. "It is complicated," she said. "Every car and seatbelt and car seat is different." Emergency workers must complete 32 hours of training to be certified to do a clinic to check seats, Bisbee said. In Jackson County, firefighters, sheriff deputies and hospital employees have child-safety-seat certifications. For parents, she advises a careful reading of the directions that accompany their seat. They can contact fire departments throughout the Rogue Valley to find out when clinics are scheduled. Departments also have educational material to help parents choose a seat that will fit their child properly and meet their family’s needs. Online resources Bisbee recommends include www.safekids.org , which includes a link to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and www.ACTSoregon.org Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times