Top Tips To Help You Enhance Fire Safety At Home

by Norman Holden on 09/10/14

According to a recent survey, it was stated that almost eighty five percent of fire deaths occurred in home due to the negligence on the residents’ part. This raises importance of creating awareness among people to take all the preventive measures that are necessary. Here are some of the tips which you can consider for fire prevention and keep your loved ones safe at home. All these tips are generated based on the most common causes of fire in home.



Cooking equipment

• You must make sure that your appliances are well cleaned. To keep them in a perfect condition, it is recommended to wipe the surfaces after spills regularly. Similarly, you must have a habit of cleaning ovens and stove on a regular basis.

•  You should wear tight fitting sleeves when working in kitchen. It is better to roll your sleeves up when cooking so that the chances of catching fire are considerably reduced.

•  Items that are flammable like curtains, dish towels and pot holders should be kept at least three feet away from the stove.

• The chimneys, fireplaces, coal and wood stoves must be inspected by a professional on annual basis and must be cleaned as per the professional’s advice.

•  If you have a microwave, you must ensure that it has 'breathing' space. All its vents must be cleared of obstructions.

•  At anytime your microwave catches fire, you must turn off the heat and keep its door closed. If the situation gets out of control, you must call the fire department right away.

•  A grease fire tend to occur when greasy foods or oil are heated and get ignited. To control such situation, the easiest thing to do is to simply slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner. There is no need to move the pan. Just keep the lid on it till the time your pan cools down. Baking soda is known for controlling such situation as well. It is important to mention here that you must never put water on a grease fire.

Heating equipment

During winters, heating equipments can turn out to be the leading reason of home fires and therefore you should learn how to handle them.

•  It is better to purchase those heaters that have automatic shut off features.

•  Special attention must be given to the ventilation of the gas fuelled heating devices. If you have unvented gas space heaters, never dare to put them in your bedroom or even in your bathroom.

•  Always make sure you switch off the heater when you leave your room.

•  If you have space heaters, you must keep them at least three feet away from the objects that can catch fire.

•  It is highly recommended to avoid the usage of extension cords with space heaters. These heaters require a large amount of current and can easily melt the extension’s cord and cause fire.

•  When lighting a gas space heater, you must always strike your match first and then turn on the gas.

•  Always keep in mind that gas range is not a substitute of a space heater or a furnace.

Electrical distribution equipment

It is a fact that electrical devices, circuit breakers, switches, outlets and wirings are known to be one of the common reasons of home fires and even fire deaths.

•  If there are any loose cords on any electrical device, repair or replace them as soon as possible.

•  At anytime you feel the switches or outlets are warm, simply shut off the circuit and call a appliance repair professional for its inspection.

•  It is better to avoid the use of extension cords. If you feel that extension wires are necessary, make sure you use the one that is not frayed. It is also really unwise to run the extension wires under the carpet and around the doors.