Safety Tips When Preventing House Fires

4/11/2018 (Permalink)

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For our last blog post, "Homeowners policy. Fire coverage. What do I need?," we covered the following:

Insurance coverage is very important in protecting your home and belongings.

Know what you own- document everything in a video. Educate yourself on the policy you are buying and choose your agent based on your needs.

We also want you to consider the five most common causes of house fires:

1. Cooking equipment 
2. Heating equipment 
3. Electrical distribution and lighting equipment
4. Intentional fires 
5. Smoking materials 
6. Candles

In this blog post we will explain how you can reduce the risk of a fire starting in your home.

1. Cooking equipment.
• Be alert when cooking and don’t leave food unattended
• DO NOT throw water on a grease fire- put a lid on the pan or powdery material such as baking soda to smother the fire
• If an oven fire flares up, turn the oven off and leave the door shut until the fire extinguishes itself
• Keep clothing, pot holders, paper towels and other flammable items away from fires
• Keep working smoke detectors in the house, and have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case
2. Heating equipment.
• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater
• Maintain a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters
• Turn off space heaters and make sure any embers in the fireplace are extinguished before going to bed or leaving home
• If you must use a space heater, place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs or carpets or near bedding or drapes; keep children and pets away from space heaters
• Make sure your fireplace is properly cleaned and checked before the cold weather season starts.
• Keep the fire in your fireplace by using a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs
• Make sure wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and furnaces are professionally inspected and cleaned once a year
3. Electrical distribution and lighting equipment.
• Don’t overload outlets or electrical cords
• Make sure you have the right cord for the job – inside cords for inside, heavy duty/outside cords for outdoor use
• Don’t leave Christmas lights, Christmas trees, or halogen lights on overnight, or when not at home
• Consider having an electrician perform an annual checkup of your home’s wiring
4. Intentional fires.
• Consider what could burn
• Remove overgrown vegetation
• Remove abandoned cars
• Secure vacant homes
• Watch for kids
• Get to know your neighborhood
• Report suspicious activity
• Work with your community
• Watch local businesses
• Organize a watch program
• Install and test smoke alarms
• Call 911
5. Smoking materials.
• If you smoke, consider smoking outside
• Use wide, sturdy ashtrays to catch butts and ashes
• Look for cigarette butts under furniture and between seat cushions to make sure no lit butts have fallen someplace where they can’t be seen
• This one might be obvious, but nonetheless, don’t smoke in bed, when you’re tired, or around medical oxygen
6. Candles.
• Never leave a candle burning near flammable items
• Never leave a candle burning in a child’s room or an unoccupied room
• Make sure candles fit securing into candle holders so they won’t tip over
• Blow out any candles before leaving a room or going to sleep

You can follow every piece of advice above, and the chances are positive that you’ll avoid any type of fire in your home. However, even though the risk is greatly reduced, accidents still happen.

The bottom line is that you need to make sure you have enough coverage in the event of a major loss.

Does your home have fire damage ? Call SERVPRO of Portage County's 24/7 Emergency Service line at 330-677-4483 or Request Help Online