Provided Courtesy of: Fire Etc
A little fire safety planning now can help save your home — and your family — in a future emergency emergency. No one ever thinks they will be the victim of a fire, yet thousands lose their lives or their homes every year. Here we’ll go over how fires start and what things can be done to increase your home fire safety, both from the inside and out.
How Home Fires Start
It’s a sad fact that many fires started in the home can be completely preventable. Home fires can start from any number of things we use every day.
The most common causes of home fires are:
• Large appliances like clothes dryers or ovens
• Small appliances like hair dryers and toasters
• Overloaded electrical outlets
• Frayed or worn electrical cords
• Candles
• Holiday decorations and live Christmas trees
• Space heaters
• Unattended fire places
How To Firesafe Your Home From The Inside
There are some simple ways to reduce your risk of fire from inside your home. Many things may seem to be common sense and minor, but can drastically lower the chances of a fire.
Unplugging items when they’re not in use is a great way to reduce your risk of fire. It’s also a simple way to reduce your electricity bill, since small appliances still have an electrical current going through them even if they’re off or not in use. Some kitchen appliances to unplug include toasters, coffee makers, blenders or anything else that only gets used sparingly.
In the kitchen, make sure the electrical outlets that power the stove, microwave and dishwasher are wired to handle these powerful appliances. It’s a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher and baking soda on hand to handle any small fires that pop up while cooking. Baking soda is a quick and easy way to extinguish grease fires on top of the stove. Ensure any towels, curtains and products like waxed paper are kept away from hot burners and remember to never place metal in the microwave. It is always a good idea to practice using the fire extinguisher before you actually need it too.
It’s so important to check your smoke alarms often and replace the batteries every 6 months. Although this is such a simple task, and the majority of people know that they should be checking their smoke detectors - most people never actually follow through!
Many people find it helps to change the batteries when Daylight Savings Time begins or ends, or on the first day of fall and spring. The important part is setting a schedule and stick with it!
Oftentimes, when fires occur, we find that the damage could have been minimized if the family had just checked the batteries in their smoke detectors. Smoke detectors should be placed in living and sleeping areas, but if you like to sleep with your bedroom door closed, it’s a good idea to place one in each bedroom. Smoke detectors are an easy and inexpensive way to keep your family safe in case of a fire.
Practice ‘stop, drop and roll’ so everyone knows what to do in case they’re unlucky enough to have a spark land on their clothing. If you have a two or three story home, make sure each room has an exit plan in case of a fire. Purchase a fire escape ladder that can be easily unrolled and thrown over the windowsill as an exit route. If you have children, plan practice runs with them until they’re comfortable with going down the ladder and make sure they know never to hide in a closet or under their beds. After that, make sure to plan a practice every few months so that the routine remains fresh in everyone’s minds. Designate a meeting spot that’s far enough from the house to be clear of danger, like a neighbor’s yard.
When your family is practicing escape routes, it’s also a great time to teach younger children how to dial 911 in case of an emergency. While you may have the number programmed into your phones, teach kids how to dial it on their own. They may need to use a phone without the speed dial programmed into it.
It’s also a good idea to have a file of important documents, like birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies and bank account information in a fire-safe box or at a trusted friend or family member’s house. As a last resort, a bank safety deposit box works, but you may have limited access if your disaster occurs during non-business hours.
If you use electric blankets, mattress pads or space heaters during the winter, turn them off before you go to sleep. If you must use a space heater, make sure it’s a newer model with an automatic shut off in case it overheats and make sure to place it out of the way of kids and pets. Smoking in bed or lying on the couch is a huge fire hazard and most people think they’ll never fall asleep with a cigarette burning, but it is common and should be avoided at all costs.
In the bathroom, ensure that small appliances are unplugged when not in use. It’s also a good idea to purchase bathroom appliances with an automatic shut off feature so you don’t have to worry if you’ve forgotten to turn off a straightening or curling iron. Keep towels away from heaters and any appliances that can heat up.
How Fires Outside The Home Start
Fires outside the home can start for a variety of reasons. Some of reasons are:
• Wildfires
• Lightening strikes and other natural causes
• Gas line explosions
• Improper trash, leaves and grass burning
• Careless storage of matches
Where And Why Wildfires Occur
It’s not uncommon for people to think that wildfires only happen in California. Although wildfires have typically occurred in California, they can happen anywhere in the world. The perfect condition for wildfires is when there is enough rainfall to encourage the growth of trees and vegetation, but the climate also has dry, hot periods where branches and leaves can dry out and become flammable. Wildfires can also be common in grasslands and scrublands.
Many people here the word wildfire and think there’s nothing that can be done to save their homes. This may be the case if you haven’t thought about making your home firesafe well before the fire is on its way, but there’s plenty that can be done ahead of time to save your home.
Even if you aren’t located in a wildfire danger zone, it’s a good idea to take some simple steps to make your home safer from external fire. You never know when your neighbor’s home may break out in an uncontrollable fire and spread to yours.
How To Firesafe Your Home From The Outside
Externally, there’s a lot that can be done to protect the outside of your home from a fire. It’s a good idea to create a clear space of 30 feet all the way around your home. This means removing all flammable vegetation in that 30 foot area. This will drastically slow the onset of a fire to your home and may buy you valuable time to get the fire put out and save your home. Placing any wood piles more than 30 feet away from your home will also help.
In addition to the 30 foot area of cleared vegetation, all homes should have another 70 feet of a ‘fuel reduction zone.’ This simply means that you’re slowing down the speed of the fire and increasing the chance of stopping it all together before it reaches your house. This can be done two ways. If you’d like a mix of horizontal and vertical plants, alternate planting the tall and short plants. If you have all tall trees, they do not need to be cut down, as long as you remove the plants below them. Removing smaller plants that are directly underneath large trees eliminates a fire ladder and stops the rapid movement of the fire.
It’s also a good idea to make sure any large trees are free of dead branches, leaves and needles. Remove them from your gutters and roof and make sure your chimney has at least a 10 foot clearance from any overhanging tree limbs. While these steps are the law in California, they can help anyone who would like to keep their home safe from the path of a large fire.
Sadly, when wide spread fires break out and threaten homes, fire departments aren’t able to save everyone’s home. But there are a few simple things homeowners can do to protect the houses and their belongings inside before it’s time to evacuate.
Homeowners can apply a product called Thermo-Gel to their homes. The gel can slow the speed of a fire by more than 75% when mixed with water and sprayed directly on homes and fences. The gel can be applied in five to eight hours in advance, meaning you can apply it and quickly get out of danger. It is used by several government agencies throughout California and the United States.
A Fire Marshall Pool Pump is also available. The pump takes water directly out of your home pool or pond and uses that water to fight a fire. It comes with a 100 foot hose and can shoot up to 70 gallons of water a minute into a fire.
Experts agree though, that when the call to evacuate comes, it’s a good idea to listen. Precautionary measures are great, but fighting a large fire is something best left to the professionals who have the appropriate firefighting equipment.
Fires aren’t always preventable, but there are simple things that can be done to help reduce your risk. Taking these easy steps to lessen your risk is a great first step in fireproofing your home and keeping your family safe. If you are unlucky enough to be a victim of a fire, either inside or outside the home, you’ll take comfort in knowing you’ve done everything possible to keep your family safe.