staff Fire is one of the most frightening things that can happen to a person. It doesn’t take long for fire to overtake a property, and you can lose everything. It is important to take precautions to make sure you are doing everything possible to protect your home in case of fire by natural disasters or accidents.
Frightening Fire Statistics:
Here are some frightening statistics from the National Fire Protection Agency:
- 26% of fires reported from 2016-2020 occurred in homes.
- 75% of fire deaths and injuries were caused by home fires.
- During this same period, U.S. fire agencies responded to 343,100 home fires.
- These fires were responsible for over 2,500 deaths, over 11,000 injuries, and $7.6 billion in property and structural damage.
- Most home fires are caused by cooking, heating, electrical circuits, lighting, and smoking.
- The most common cause was cooking and smoke inhalation was the most frequent cause of death.
Keep Your Property Safe from Fire with These Tips:
Fire risks are very real and there are many different ways a fire can start. Some areas are prone to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornados, and strong storms with lightning. Other areas see more home fires than anything else.
There are many precautions people can take to keep their homes as safe as possible. Here are some tips from Safehome.org:
Inside the Home:
- Keep candles and anything else with open flames away from children and anything flammable. Instead of candles with a wick, choose flameless candles.
- Stay by your stove when cooking. Most fires start while cooking so make sure you stay by the stove while cooking. Also, use the back burners that are away from children.
- Protect yourself from dropping hot pan handles by using hot pads and oven gloves.
- Keep chimneys and dryer exhausts free from build-up and well-ventilated.
- Install smoke protectors and check them regularly to make sure they are properly working.
- Make sure you have working fire extinguishers in the kitchen, by the fireplace, or any other area source of heat or open flame.
- To avoid skin burns, keep the water heater at no higher than 120 degrees.
- Keep irons, heat curlers, hair dryers, or curling rods away from children and other flammable materials.
There are numerous things you can do to protect your home from the outside, here are some tips from FireSafetyTips.com.
Outside Fire Tips:
- Keep BBQ grills, and smokers far away from wood and the exterior of the home.
- Have fire extinguishers close by outside sources of flame like fire pits, fireplaces, and grills.
- Keep tinder, leaves, and other combustible material in garbage cans and away from the home.
- Keep in mind that stucco homes are more fire retardant than wood.
- You should have a hose and sprinkling system available outside.
- Clear your property regularly of dry, dead brush and weeds. Keeping plants from overgrowing can also be a boon.
What to do in Case of Fire:
If you do experience a fire in your home the first thing you should do is contact your insurance company and start a claim. You should also call a company that specializes in fire damage restoration. They will be able to walk you through the steps of restoring your home and turning it back into a livable place that you can once again enjoy.
