Fires and burns are the third leading cause of home injuries in the United States, according to the Home Safety Council. Most of the time, these fires could have been stopped, which is sad. Many homes have fire alarms, and while the alarms do what they're supposed to,
Alarms don't stop fires; they just let you and your monitoring company know when one is going on.
Don't put yourself or your family in danger without a good reason. If you know where fires are most likely to start, you can look at each room and make any changes you need to before you and your family are hurt.
When it comes to fire safety, most people pay attention to the kitchen. They make sure that their fire alarm systems have both smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in the kitchen. Most people know they should already:
Don't leave the kitchen while you're cooking!
Don't wear loose clothes near burners or gas flames.
Watch out for splattering oil when you're frying.
- Don't put paper, plastic, or anything else that can catch fire near burners.
However, this is where most homeowners stop. Unfortunately, all of our homes have things that could catch fire. If you don't want fires to start, you need to pay attention to each room. Putting in fire alarms is a good idea, but that's not enough. Use the following list to do a room-by-room survey in a thorough way. When you're done, you can feel a lot more sure that you and your family are safe from fires.
The living room.
The sparks can't get out of the fireplace because it has a screen, a glass door, or something else to keep them in.
If there are small children in the house, matches and lighters are kept in a locked cabinet.
The fireplace is checked every year and cleaned as needed by a professional.
Garage or outside space.
Children can't get to chemicals or fertilisers because they are locked up and out of reach.
Gasoline and kerosene are kept outside the house in containers with good ventilation and a cool place to store them.
Grills should be at least two feet away from anything that can catch fire, like bushes and tree branches.
The inside and outside of the grills have been cleaned of all grease drips.
"All Rooms" (B)
Before getting rid of cigarettes, they are dipped in water.
__ Candles are never left unattended.
Space heaters should be kept at least three feet away from curtains, drapes, newspapers, magazines, books, blankets, towels, or anything else that could catch fire.
There aren't too many things plugged into the outlets.
The power cords are in good shape and do not have frayed ends.
If you spend just an hour or two inspecting your home, you can cut your risk of a fire by a huge amount. Alarm systems are very helpful in times of trouble, but if you take a few precautions, you can make it much less likely that something bad will happen in your home.
