A house fire can be a devastating experience to live through. The most heartbreaking aspect of house fires is that most of them could have been prevented. All it takes is one careless mistake and lives are changed forever. With minimal effort, you can go a long way in helping to prevent a fire where you live, though. Here are five tips about how to prevent fires in your home.
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Smoke Detectors
Most people would read about smoke alarms as being one of the big five and say, “of course, everyone knows that.” The problem is that more people know that smoke alarms are essential than put that knowledge into practice. Homes without smoke alarms or ones that aren’t in working condition are commonplace. It’s important to have at least one smoke alarm on each floor. Routinely check to make sure the batteries are charged. It’s also wise to buy new smoke alarms every ten years. If you’ve recently moved into a home and are unsure of how old the smoke alarms are, replace them.
Cook Carefully
The number one cause of house fires isn’t due to electrical problems. It’s because of careless cooking. All it takes is the cook stepping outside, getting a phone call or going on an errand (gasp) with food on a stove top. Fires can get out of control in the kitchen faster than most people realize. Always be aware of what’s going on in the kitchen. If you have to step out for a while, turn the burner off. Doing so will diminish your chances of a house fire by a large margin.
Candle Caution
Candles are another thing that you don’t want to leave unattended. Many people figure that they’re ok leaving a room with a candle because it’s contained. Things can go from bad to worse quickly, though, if a pet or child knocks the candle over. Another issue is underestimating how close the candle is to other objects. Cluttered tabletops or counters are one of the top culprits. If you must use candles, get into the habit of putting the candle out when you leave a room. Also don’t light candles late at night if you know there’s a risk that you could fall asleep with the candle burning.
Fire Extinguishers
Businesses wouldn’t think of operating without a fire extinguisher. There are laws to keep and the liability of doing so is scary. Unfortunately, such earnestness often does not transfer to the home. Things are more relaxed and there are no such laws to worry about. The problem is if you do have a minor fire on your hands, by the time the fire service arrives it could be an inferno. Home fire extinguishers are cheap and easy to use. Should you come across the need for one, it’ll be worth its weight in gold.
Check Electrical Items
Routinely check appliance cords and other electrical items. Check for cracks or frays in cords. If you find such issues, replace the faulty cords. Do your best to space cords out so that there’s only one cord per electrical outlet.
It’s not difficult to take measures to ensure fire safety. It just takes a little time and attention to details. Sometimes the little things in life matter far more than they’re given credit for. If you’re in need of any fire safety items for your home or business, you’ll find everything you’re looking for at fireprotectiononline.co.uk and they will help to ensure your family and home is fully protected. With a small expense of time and money, you can keep your priceless loved ones as safe as they possibly can be.
About Carson Derrow
I am always really cautious about candles in my home. When I was little, my mom accidentally left a candle unattended and it started a huge fire and we lost a lot of things. Ever since then, I have always made sure that we had a smoke detector that worked too. However, I have only ever kept one near the kitchen and not on both floors. Now that I realize that is the way that it should be, I think that I am going to go and install another detector today.
Thanks for this helpful post on some tips to preventing house fires. I am starting to realize that my house might not be very safe when it comes to fires. I think that having a fire extinguisher in my house might be helpful. I will be sure to get one before it is too late. Thanks for the advice.
I definitely think it’s a good idea to keep fire extinguishers handy and close. I’ve heard of many stories in which businesses didn’t have fire protection and lost everything while waiting for the firemen to come. I will always have fire extinguishers at my office just in case. Good post, thanks!
I make sure to keep a fire extinguisher in my kitchen and in the garage. When we grill, we take it outside with us as well – just to be on the safe side. I check my smoke detectors when I change out the furnace/air filters in the home which is every 3 months, it is an easy way for me to remember. Great tips, thanks for sharing!
These are some great tips, and I appreciate your advice to have fire extinguishers in your home. I don’t have any currently, but I want to make sure my house will be safe in an emergency. I’ll definitely look into putting a few around the house, especially one near the kitchen. Thanks for the great post!
We just bought an old house and I just barely realized that it only has one smoke alarm throughout the whole house. It must be decades old. I’m going to follow your advice and get new alarms for each area of the house. I agree that it would also be useful to have a fire extinguisher on hand, although it’s not required by the law. Thanks for these tips to prevent house fires!
I really think that a fire extinguisher would be a good idea to have in a home. I just bought an apartment for the first time and I think it will be good to invest in an extinguisher. That way, I can try and prevent any fire that may appear!
I think it’s extremely important to have a fire extinguisher as you stated. Like you mentioned, fire extinguishers are affordable and easy to use, so you should have one in your home. It’s helpful to even hold a family meeting so that everyone can learn how to operate one in case of emergency.
It’s good to know that there are actually home fire extinguishers that can be used, and can help as you wait for a fire service to arrive. That being said, it definitely sounds worthwhile to make sure that you understand how they work in the case of an emergency. Maybe there’s a way to practice with them safely so that you can be adequately prepared.