Fires can happen at home anytime which is why homeowners should take safety precautions to prevent them from happening. Every home is at high risk of house fires if safety measures are not taken to ensure that fire breakouts don’t happen. Even if you have ensured your home against fire incidences losing your stuff when everything is razed down is never easy and often painful, sometimes fire incidences can result to the loss of life which is the hardest of them all.
You can prevent destructive fires from happening in your home by knowing the most common causes of home fires and measures to take in order to prevent them.
- Cooking Equipment
Kitchen fires often happen when people leave their cooking unattended after getting distracted. A few seconds of lapsed attention can cause a huge fire that could burn the whole house down. Burnt food can begin a fire and so would leaking gas. This si why you should stand by your cooking pot until the food is ready. If your cooking equipment is faulty, consider replacing it to avoid fire accidents happening. You could also keep your kitchen are well ventilated and combustibles like oven mitts, dish towels, and paper towels should be kept away from heat source.
- Electrical Equipment
Faulty wiring is often times the major cause of house fires. When doing your wiring make sure a real professional does the job. You could also prevent overloads in circuits by avoiding overuse of an extension cord. You don’t have to plug every open plug and always check your appliances for any loose or frayed cords. As a further precaution, avoid running electrical wires under rugs or heavy furniture.
- Careless Smoking
Smoking has caused house fires in many homes because the smokers have been careless. Unsafe smoking practices like smoking in bed, or smoking near combustible material like near a window curtain and so on can quickly cause fires. Never smoke in bed, you will not only damage your beddings or mosquito net, but you could also cause a fire that could be fatal for you or cause serious burns. As an extra precaution look for a big and deep ashtray and always put it at a safe place where the cigarette embers will not cause a fire and always keep your cigarette lighter away from the reach of children.
- Unattended Open Flames.
Burning candles left in a room or burning kerosene lamps put near a flammable material are accidental house fires waiting to happen. Blow out the candles before you leave your room or simply place them in a sturdy holder. Put them out of reach of children or pets because they can tip them over and cause fires.
- Children Playing With Fire
Children are ever curious or mischievous and they can cause house fires when they begin playing with matches or lighters. They don’t fully understand the dangers that playing with fires poses to them and the house. Always check the things they play with and ensure that they don’t have matches or any flammable chemicals with them. Store all flammable things under lock and key or where they cant reach and instill in them the dangers of playing with fire by constantly reminding them by talking to them.
- Flammable Substances
Home products like thinners, paints, cleaning agents, solvents, pesticides and many others are flammable and can easily ignite or explode when stored wrongly. Avoid placing flammable liquids near heating sources but instead, store them outside your home in a well-ventilated area and in tightly sealed containers.
- Lighting
Bulbs with very high wattage for lamps and light fixtures have been known to cause electrical fires. When a bulb burns out, there is a high likelihood of a fire starting courtesy of the ballast. Check light fittings regularly so you can notice any heat buildup. If your lampshade is too close to the light globe and lamp bases, discard them then buy safer ones.
- Overnight Charging Of Devices
You should avoid leaving devices to charge unattended overnight. There have been cases of phones and tablets exploding or bursting into flames. A device battery might explode because of overcharging when you are in deep sleep and set fire to your home. Always use original batteries and chargers for your devices to avoid exploding scenarios. If you live in hot areas do not leave your device charging and unattended, this will only make overheating problems worse.
- Pets
Pets like dogs and cats can cause fires in a home as well. With their tendency to climb places, they could hit the stove knobs and turn them on or knock over burning lamps to set the house on fire. Some dogs also chew electrical cords which could electrocute them and cause a fire. When you are away from home, you could use crates to prevent untrained dogs from chewing electrical cords or simply buy stove knob protectors to prevent stove fires or simply remove the stove knobs when you are not using them. You could also keep any flammable substances away from the reach of your pets to prevent them from spilling them near flames and causing fires. Taking such precautions will prevent fires from occurring.
Home fires can still occur even after you have taken all the precautions. The fire could raze down the neighbors home and then spread to yours if you live in close proximity. In case a fire happens in your home, the first priority should be your family’s safety. Get all your family members out of the house as quickly as possible.
Disorientation and confusion are usually high during such a time. Have all the important phone numbers such as emergency numbers, helplines and so on. Educate your family on what to do in case there is a fire and help them learn the emergency numbers that they might need. As much as home fires can happen you don’t have to be careless and let them happen in your home. Take above mentioned preventive measures in order to make your home a safe place to live for you and your family.
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