Home Fire Safety Guide

When it comes to home fire safety, prevention and planning are key. First of all, you need to make sure everyone in the household knows how to get out in the case of an emergency. Then, you must do everything you can to remove hazards and limit the risk of fire in your home. By taking all the steps outlined below, you’ll be doing your part to protect your household from deadly fires.

Invest In A Fire Extinguisher And A Fire Blanket

Fire extinguishers can put out small fires in the early stages before they get too big. A fire extinguisher should only be used by someone that’s confident and physically able to use it. When you spray a fire with dry powder, you cut off its oxygen supply. The dry powder also helps to reduce the heat.

Fire blankets are made of fireproof material and designed to smother small pan fires involving fat. Keep one handy in the kitchen for easy access in case of emergency.

Smoke Alarms And Heat Alarms

Smoke alarms are critical for an early warning and quick escape during a house fire. When disaster strikes, you need sufficient warning to get everyone out of the house. Smoke detectors save lives, plain and simple. Don’t make the fatal mistake of overlooking their importance.

Placement And Installation

You should install smoke detectors in a common area outside of bedrooms as well as have at least one on every level of your home. You should also place one in every bedroom. Ideally they should be fixed to the ceiling. Smoke rises, so a floor-level alarm won’t catch many fires.

Testing, Cleaning And Maintenance

Test your smoke alarms every month to make sure they’re in working order. You should also clean them every three months, removing the cover and using a vacuum to eliminate dust and dirt that could be covering the sensor. Some smoke alarms use 10-year lithium batteries, but all other alarms need new batteries replaced every year. Remember, a malfunctioning smoke alarm, with the false sense of security it provides, is even worse than no smoke alarm at all.

Creating An Escape Plan

Every member of your household should know how to react if a smoke alarm sounds in the home. With no plan in place, people are likely to panic and freeze at the pivotal moment. When everyone knows the safest way to escape from every part of the home, they’ll be able to stay calm and carry out the planned movements.

Keeping Everyone Informed

An evacuation plan is only effective if everyone knows what it entails. Hold a family or household meeting to discuss fire safety. Make sure there are multiple ways to exit every room. You should also choose a safe outdoor meeting place well away from the home.

Smart Security Measures

Sometimes, security measures like locks and window grills can impede an evacuation. It’s important to adjust these security measures to allow for an easy exit from the home. Consider leaving the keys inside your deadbolt locks and installing grills that open from the inside. That way, you can keep criminals from getting in without preventing evacuees from getting out.

Avoiding Hazards in the Home

Benjamin Franklin once said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is certainly the case with fire safety. You can protect your loved ones by keeping your home free of obvious hazards. Taking a few simple steps and forming responsible habits will do much to decrease the risk of a fire in your home.

General Home Fire Safety

The typical home is full of potential fire hazards. Electric appliances, candles, and tobacco products all bring a certain degree of risk. Treating these objects with the respect they deserve will help prevent catastrophic fires.

Electrical Safety

Electricity has done wonders for modern civilization, but it doesn’t come without risk. To prevent your appliances and gadgets from starting a fire, make sure you never use frayed or damaged cords. Don’t run extension cords under rugs or carpets, and make sure all electrical equipment has proper ventilation. You should also replace malfunctioning appliances immediately. Continuing to use a faulty piece of electrical equipment poses a serious risk.

Candles

Candles might be stylish, but they also constitute an open flame in your home. Never leave them lit in an empty room, and don’t place them near curtains or other flammable materials. Also, make sure they’re never in a place where children or pets could knock them over.

Smoking In The Home

A discarded cigarette can quickly send a house up in flames. If anyone in your household smokes, make sure they put their butts out completely before discarding them.

Fireplaces

An open flame in your home is an obvious hazard that requires a responsible attitude from the residents. Keep a metal grate in front of a lit fireplace at all times. You should also have your chimney swept regularly to prevent creosote buildup and subsequent chimney fires.

Space Heaters

The heat from a portable heater can send adjacent materials up in flames. Always leave plenty of space around heaters, and never place them next to curtains, beds, or other flammable objects.

Using Gas Safely

Leaking gas can cause explosions in your home. Always store canisters in an open space. Double-check that a gas stove is turned off when you’re done using it. If you smell gas in your home, put out any flames, open the doors and windows, and call for emergency assistance.

Kitchen Safety

The kitchen is a place where heat and flames are a necessary part of daily life. To prevent these activities from sparking a fire, you need to act responsibly.

Cooking Precautions

Never leave the kitchen empty while something is cooking. You need to be there when the unexpected overflow of a pan or a sudden spark ignites a kitchen fire. You should also do what you can to avoid splatters and keep flammable objects away from the stove.

Extinguishing Kitchen Fires

If a small fire starts in the kitchen, you should be able to extinguish it before it gets out of hand. Keep in mind that water only makes an oil fire worse. Use the lid of a pot or a special fire blanket to put out a small fire on the stove. Have a fire extinguisher nearby if this doesn’t extinguisher the fire or for any larger fires. If the flames grow out of control, call out to the rest of the household and evacuate immediately.

Storing Hazardous Material

Sometimes, the household materials you store in your garage can turn deadly in an instant. Storing these substances in a safe location will help prevent sudden disasters.

General Guidelines

Never store chemicals next to each other where they could potentially interact, especially flammable fuels and nitrogen fertilizers. Also, make sure you store flammable substances in clearly labeled containers to avoid any unfortunate mishaps.

Pool Chemicals

The chlorine used to treat pool water can react dangerously in combination with pool acid and other acid-based substances. Keep it stored away from other chemicals to avoid these types of issues.

Oil-Stained Rags

An oily rag will quickly ignite if given the opportunity. When you’ve finished using a rag for the day, place it in water or lay it out to dry where it won’t touch a flame or overheat.

Pesticides

Many common pesticides and garden chemicals are made from chemical substances. Make sure you store them accordingly. Avoid placing such dangerous chemicals in regular food containers. Keep them in their original packaging so everyone treats them with the necessary caution.

Conclusion: Planning and Prevention

Fire safety is an integral part of managing a household. You can keep everyone in your home safe just by taking some basic precautions. If you enact the safety plan described above, you’ll be doing your part to minimize the risk.

If you require any assistance with fire services contact us. We specialise is fire protection and fire equipment services.