In February, 1998, a tragic death occurred in a Southern Ontario school. While the actual sequence of events leading to the fatality are still unclear, the facts were that a student was found hanging from a coat hook in a school washroom and that he died of asphyxiation. The Coroner’s Inquest that followed made over 20 recommendations to school boards and Emergency Response Services related to this death, with the removal of coat hooks in school washrooms being one of the primary recommendations.

Since this fatality occurred, and with the shadow of a recent near-miss involving a child who was rescued after becoming entangled in coat hook in a class room, a new technology has been developed incorporating a safety release feature into the coat hook fixture. Although OSBIE does not formally endorse specific products or organizations, our policy is to promote an awareness of any new developments in safety technology that can benefit school boards by reducing risks. While no product can replace proper student supervision, the following information is provided by the manufacturer, Henkel Diversified Inc., and is shared with OSBIE members as an example of a technological solution to a risk management issue. Also included in the hardcopy distribution of this edition of the Oracle is a brochure outlining the technical specifications for this product.

After the tragic death of a public school student in 1998, many school boards responded to the Coroner’s Inquest recommendations and had taken rigid hooks out of washrooms. However, when a near tragedy occurred again in 2004 involving coat hooks left in other areas of the school, it brought home the realization that the problem had not been solved.

In addition to the fact that the problem wasn’t solved, removing coat hooks had also created other issues of personal hygiene and the practical aspect of where do children place their coats or backpacks when they use the washroom or while they are indoors during school hours? A response to these incidents, and a practical solution beyond simply removing all coat hooks was needed and after being prompted by his daughter, Becky Regier, Jim Henkel, President of Henkel Diversified Inc., had an idea that would prevent this from happening again – a collapsible coat hook. Jim wanted to develop a product that was inexpensive, strong, vandal-resistant, tamper proof and that would release at a certain weight and then reset after being released.

The HenkelHook™ has been a year in the making. His initial idea was to make a spring-loaded hook and after doing a patent search, Jim’s idea for his hook came about which did not use springs. The HenkelHook™ incorporates two rare earth magnets, also called permanent magnets (imported from China), and the hook fixture is made of polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate is a high-strength plastic and is used in bullet-proof shielding, therefore, making it virtually impossible to break.

The HenkelHook™ will be manufactured in London, Ontario, by Falcon Plastics and the assembly and packaging will also take place in the London area.

For more information, contact
Henkel Diversified Inc.
www.henkelhook.com or
telephone (519)641-5872.

Click the above image for a larger view, or check out the online edition of Business London.

SAFETY: The safety hooks were developed after the death of Myles Neuts at St. Agnes Catholic school in Chatham By KATHY RUMLESKI, FREE PRESS REPORTER

Becky Regier sat down at the kitchen table with The London Free Press on a February morning in 1998 and her world quickly changed. She read the story of 10-year-old Myles Neuts, who was found unconscious, hanging on a hook at St. Agnes Catholic school in Chatham. He died. Regier couldn’t get the tragic story out of her head. “I put myself in Myles’ shoes and I thought, ‘What was he thinking when he was hanging there? Was he calling for his mom and dad?’ I couldn’t fathom that happening to another child,” she says. Regier started her mission, then, to try to save other children from Myles’ fate. It’s a mission she’s still on, 11 years later. Last week, Regier, with Myles’ father, Mike Neuts, launched the Coat Hooks are for Coats, Not Kids campaign in London to raise awareness of the danger of coat hooks. The very day she read Myles’, story, Regier called her father and asked him to make a collapsible coat hook. “I always thought my dad could do anything,” she says. Her father believed a company would make such a hook quicker than he could. There are companies that make collapsible coat hooks, but at between $40 and $130, that few schools can afford. The London woman continued to hear stories about deaths similar to Myles’.

She wanted an affordable hook. So she went back to her father, Jim Henkel, and asked again for a collapsible hook. He agreed and invented the HenkelHook, which is patented in the U.S. and pending in Canada. It will collapse with a weight of about 26 pounds. The hooks are sold for less than $10 so they are affordable. This is about saving children, not making money, Regier says. The figure was also significant because Myles was bullied because of a $10 bet. Regier has contacted every school board in Canada about the dangers of coat hooks and her homegrown solution. She also contacted the City of London and officials are replacing hooks in arenas and aquatic facilities.

Twenty boards are now using the hooks, including Lambton Kent District, Avon Maitland District, St. Clair Catholic District, but Regier believes every board needs safe hooks in their schools. That’s because children are still dying and getting hurt.

Regier learned last week of a seven-year-old boy saved by his six-year-old sister when she pulled him off a hook. The boy was survived. She contacted that family in Boise, Idaho and is in the process of sending them HenkelHooks for their home.

Regier is disappointed more school boards are not using the hooks. The Thames Valley District School Board has said they have removed coat hooks from unsupervised areas. This doesn’t make hooks any less dangerous, Regier says.

Regier, who receives no money for her efforts, is calling on provincial Education Minister, Kathleen Wynne to make safety hooks mandatory in schools. Regier has also battled the Canadian Safety Council.

After a 10-year-old boy in the U.S. apparently committed suicide by hanging himself on a coat hook, Regier pointed out the story to the council, and the importance of collapsible hooks. The response she got was the HenkelHook would not have prevented the tragedy.

The response infuriated Regier and she blasted back. “This is the exact kind of mentality which continues to keep schools from ripping out hooks that can be used as a means to either commit suicide, hurt children purposefully or accidentally, or even kill them. Please understand your ignorance will continue to contribute to this preventable tragedy.” The Canada Safety Council has since agreed to work with Regier on this issue. When will the school boards and the province get on board?

February 1998: Myles Neuts, a 10-year-old boy was found hanging on a coat hook in a washroom stall at school. Myles died six days later.

April 2004: Tallon Moffat, a JK student, was found hanging from a coat hook in her classroom while her classmates attended a presentation in the auditorium. Fortunately, her teacher realized she was missing and found her before she was seriously injured.

April 2005: 9-year-old Dominic Jones hung himself on a coat hook in a cloakroom at his school to play a prank on his classmates. Thankfully, he survived the incident after spending two days in ICU.

January 2008: 7-year-old Tevin Park-Flowers was found hanging from a coat hook in a washroom stall at his school. He was playing a game in the washroom and accidentally hung himself.

February 2009: 10-year-old Aquan Lewis is alleged to have committed suicide at school. He was found hanging on a coat hook in the washroom stall.

March 2009: 7-year-old Javier Morales was found by his younger sister hanging from a coat hook in his home. His sister pulled him off the hook and is credited for saving his life.

The number one health risk to Canadian children aged 14 and younger is unintentional, preventable injury. In Canada, the leading cause of death and disability for children is preventable injuries. More children die annually from injuries than from all other childhood diseases combined. The annual economic burden of unintentional injuries for all ages is $8.7 billion.*

Coat hooks have been a danger to school-aged children for a long time. Independent research has found numerous deaths dating back to the 1800’s. In some of the most recent cases the children were just playing. The children didn’t know that they could die or be hurt from playing around a coat hook. These deaths and injuries are preventable. Currently, there are no safety standards that apply to coat hooks; however, there is a solution to this danger. The solution is a safety device called the HenkelHookTM.

The HenkelHookTM is a unique safety release coat hook that supports 26 lb of weight. Once the weight limit has been reached, the hook will release, the load will fall off and the hook automatically resets; thus preventing a child from being hung on a coat hook.

Please teach your children to play safe and be aware of dangerous coat hooks. Ask your child’s school to install the HenkelHook so all kids can be safe at school! For more information, please contact Becky Regier at 519-777-3875 or by email at becky@henkelhook.com.

*Source: SMARTRISK, a national injury prevention organization

Posted By TREVOR TERFLOTH, THE DAILY NEWS

A tragic incident from more than a decade ago could make local facilities safer for children. Approximately 2,700 specially designed coat hooks were delivered to the municipality yesterday. Henkel Hook created the devices, which can support about 26 pounds, so the weight of a child will cause the hook to collapse.

Mike Neuts was on hand for the delivery, which was held at the Kinsmen Auditorium. His son Myles died after he was found hanging, unconscious, by his clothing from a hook in the washroom stall of St. Agnes Catholic School in Chatham in 1998.

However, Neuts was pleased that the hooks could lessen the chance of a reoccurrence. “Kids are kids and they do silly things to each other, not even thinking about the ramifications,” he said. “Anytime you can remove a source of danger . . . it’s a good day.”

Council approved spending $19,000 on the hooks during the last budget process.

Brian Bennett, facilities supervisor, said shower areas and washrooms were done first, with dressing rooms and other locations to follow. “If any child has got their clothing caught on that hook it will release,” he said.

Jim Henkel, president of the London-based company and hook inventor, said it was the largest single order he’s had to fill. There is really no reason for that tragic event to have occurred,” he said. Henkel said the Neuts incident — as well as a similar one in London – - helped motivate him to do something. Although he’s an accountant by profession, Henkel said he had an interest in engineering.

There are no springs in the hooks, which instead use magnets. Henkel said he’s sold them across North America. “I think Chatham-Kent should be commended for their interest in doing the responsible thing,” he said.

tterfloth@chathamdailynews.ca