There may be fire hazards all around your home that you didn’t even know were there. Most house fires occur because home owners are unaware of potential fire hazards or unable to deal with a fire once it occurs.
Below is a fire prevention checklist to aid you in your quest of a fire proof home. Make sure you take them all seriously and if you come up with any we haven’t though of, please post them for others below.
Make Sure:
- Your house numbers or E911 numbers are clearly visible to emergency medical staff when viewing you house from the street
- All matches, lighters, and hazardous chemicals are kept out of reach from children
- You have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen that family members know how to use
- If you live in an older home you’ve had the wiring checked for safety
You don’t overload electrical sockets or circuits - When the circuit breaker trips or a fuse blows, you find the cause and fix it
- Kitchen appliances are plugged into different outlets
- Electrical cords are not frayed, cracked, or scorched.
- That all the air vents on your electrical appliances (stereo, dvd player, tv, etc) are kept free from dust
- To clean the lint from the dryer each load, and occasionally remove built up lint that has blown into the exhaust pipe
- To clean and service your furnace and all portable heating devices
- You never put portable heaters in hallways or doorways, and you always keep them away from papers, curtains, and furniture
- You never add fuel to a portable heater while it is still running
- You have your fireplace chimney cleaned regularly
- You use a screen and chimney Fire Arrestor in your fireplaces
- You keep paint in a tightly closed metal container
- You keep trees trimmed back at least 10 feet from you chimney and
- You keep brush trimmed back at least 100 feet from your home
- Your Roof covering is fire retardant
- You do not store cookies, cereal or other tempting goods above or near the stove. Children can get burned climbing on the stove to reach an item overhead.
- You and your family know the proper procedure for dealing with a cooking fire.
- Curtains, towels, and other combustibles are kept away from the cooking area
- To never leave the stove unattended for long periods of time
- Clean the stove’s vent regularly, to prevent it from becoming clogged with grease
- Make absolutely sure that nobody smokes in bed. People don’t think that they will fall asleep with a lit cigarette, but thousands do each year.
- You never smoke when you handling gasoline or other highly flammable liquids
- You don’t keep piles of news paper or other stacks of flammable recycling around you home.
- You sleep with your bedroom door closed.
- You have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of your home
- You adhere to everything on the alarm and fire alarm checklists
- You use fire prevention as part of a complete home security plan that includes a family escape plan and a mapped out picture of your home.
By making yourself familiar with these fire safety and fire prevention tips, you increase the chances of survival through prevention.