In 2013 there were 369,500 home fires. That?s one every 85 seconds. While a good carpet restoration service can save the flooring of your home, damage from fire can somewhat be avoided. Below are the leading causes of home fires and house fire damage and how to prevent them.
- Cooking Equipment Cooking is the number one cause of home fires. When oil gets very hot it tends to jump and can jump right out of the pan causing a grease fire.
Damage from fire is a serious matter. Never leave the kitchen while you are cooking, keep an eye on the cooking at all times and keep items that can catch fire away from the heat. - Heating Appliances Furnaces, radiators, portable heaters, dryers and fire places are obvious fire hazards.
Make sure that your furnace is checked annually by a professional as well as having your chimney cleaned and inspected every year. Ensure that portable heaters are kept a minimum of three and a half feet away from combustibles such as curtains, bed spreads, couches and of course, people. - Electrical Appliances This one is fairly obvious. We all know that one spark around an electrical appliance can cause damage from a fire so let?s talk about preventing this one!
Check your equipment for frayed cords; fix or discard accordingly. Also, make sure that your plugs don?t have too many things plugged in to them and that you don?t have any wires under rugs or flammable furniture. - Candles Candles that are kept to close to curtains or pictures can catch fire very easily.
To avoid damage from fire, ensure candles are in a strong holder, not easily knocked over and out of reach of any children or pets you may have. Always blow out the candles when you leave the room they are in. - Inadequate wiring This is usually more of a problem with older homes. Some good ways to know if you have inadequate wiring is if you have to disconnect an appliance so that another will work or if you have frequent fuse blowouts or if the lights dim or flicker when using another appliance.
If any of these things are happening, do not attempt to fix yourself. Always leave electrical problems to the professionals. - Flammables Fluids such as fuels, paints, solvents, cleaning supplies, adhesives, etc are the main problem. They can ignite or even explode if not taken care of and put away in a careful manner. Just the vapors can cause an explosion if they come into contact with a high temperature or even a spark of static electricity.
The best way to store flammables is outside. Cool, well ventilated areas are ideal. - Christmas Trees Damage from fire is high is this area so keep this in mind when the holidays come around. Those lights being in storage for so long can become frayed and faulty and therefore another hazard. Real trees catch fire very easily but fake trees can also.
The tree needs to be in a stand with about a gallon and a half of water at all times. Keep the tree away from heating equipment and check all the lights before stringing them up. Frayed, broken or damaged lights must be thrown away.
Understanding how dangerous fires can be and how devastating fire and flood damage is should keep us on our toes in looking after our homes and ourselves. Keep safe, avoid fire damages and prevent disaster!