Continuing with Crime Prevention month, the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind citizens about firearm safety.

As a firearm owner, the responsibility is yours to ensure that guns in your home are stored where they are inaccessible to children or unauthorized persons. Hiding a gun in a closet, drawer, or similar location is not safe storage.

Safe storage is employing precautions and multiple safeguards that provide an additional barrier against unauthorized use.

∫ Firearms should be stored in a locked cabinet, safe, gun vault, or storage case. The storage location should be inaccessible to children. The firearms should be stored unloaded.

∫ Gun-locking devices can be used, in addition to locked storage. If firearms are disassembled, parts should be securely stored in separate locations.

∫ Ammunition should be stored in a locked location separate from firearms.

∫ Check firearms to confirm that they are unloaded when you remove them from storage.

If you choose to keep a loaded firearm for home security, make sure you have a plan. You are trying to create a situation in which the firearm is readily available to you, yet inaccessible or inoperative to others. Consider a lockable case or safe that can be quickly opened only by authorized individuals.

Lastly, teach your children about firearm safety and what to do if they find a firearm:

1.) Don’t go looking for guns in your home or a friend’s home. Don’t let other kids look for guns in your home.

2.) If you find a gun, STOP, leave it alone, and don’t touch it. Don’t let anyone else touch it. Leave the area and be sure to tell an adult at once.

3.) Even if a gun looks like a toy, don’t touch it. Some real guns might look like toy guns, so don’t take a chance. Leave the area and immediately tell an adult.