10 House Fire Prevention Safety Tips for Fire Prevention Month
Fire departments across the United States are called to extinguish almost two million fires every year; three-quarters of them are house fires. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, fires take the lives of over 4,000 Americans and injure about 20,000 more each year. Prevent property damage, burns, smoke inhalation and death with these fire prevention safety tips.
10 House Fire Prevention Safety Tips
- Install smoke alarms on every floor of your house, in the kitchen and near the bedrooms. Check them regularly to ensure that they are working. Click here for a post about the importance of smoke alarms.
- Consider installing fire safety sprinklers which increase the chance of surviving a house fire.
- Avoid an electrical fire by checking for loose connections between cords and outlets and keeping cords and wires away from the ground in high traffic areas. Also, unplug appliances when not in use and watch out for smells of a plug overheating. If a plug shorts out or sparks the appliance should be turned off right away, then replaced or repaired.
- Place appliances at least three feet away from flammable materials such as curtains in case they overheat and catch fire. Also keep them away from areas with moisture to prevent wiring damage that can increase the risk of fire.
- Never use your oven to heat your home. Instead use electric portable heaters if you need to supplement your home’s main heat source. Make sure there is at least three feet of space all around the heater from anything flammable.
- If your house has a wood fireplace, check the chimney annually and use fire screens to keep the fire inside the fireplace.
- Clean the lint out of your dryer vent every time you run a load of laundry. Your exhaust duct should be made of metal tubing; not foil or plastic. Twice a year the duct should be cleaned with a dryer vent brush and checked for blockages or lint.
- Check Halloween lights for frayed or exposed wires. Throw any away that are damaged.
- Talk to your kids about what to do if they smell smoke. Stop, drop and roll/crawl and check for hot doors using the back of your hand. Show them the best escape route from each part of the house.
- Regularly check electronic equipment and wiring to ensure plugs are plugged in properly and wires are not fraying.
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