Most of us probably never heard of Charlotte Fox, who was the first American woman to ascend three, 26,000-foot or higher mountains, including Mt. Everest.

Yet she tragically made the news recently when she was found dead at her home in Telluride, Colorado, apparently from a fall while she was descending a steep flight of stairs inside the house.

Needless to say, the circumstances of the 61 year-old Ms. Fox’s passing are tragic, but they also are highly-ironic.

Her tragedy bears a lesson for all of us, namely, that every person, even a world-class mountain climber, is susceptible to injury and even death from accidents in our home as we go about our everyday lives. Falls — on stairs, from roofs, and tripping over something — are responsible for more injuries to senior citizens than any other cause.

Our personal safety is our own responsibility. We need to take care in everything we do.