Tips for reducing fire risks in your home
Every year people lose their lives in, and houses are destroyed by, fire outbreaks in the home. In a climate such as ours, with many cold months, most homes regularly make use of heating appliances of all kinds, and these can be a source of potential fire outbreak.
Here are some suggestions as to some basic precautions you can take to help reduce these occurrences:
Be prepared for any fire outbreak
Reducing the risks of fire outbreak around your home is the most effective way to protect your house. Ensure that you have working smoke detectors and some sort of fire alarm system installed – being able to alert your family of any fire outbreak as soon as it occurs can create those vital minutes that will save lives and property.
If not feasible to have alarms in every room, then ensure that the ‘high-risk’ areas, such as kitchens or home offices – areas where there are a number of electrical appliances – are catered for. Test your fire alarms and smoke detectors on a monthly basis and IMMEDIATELY replace any batteries that are failing.
Keep all doors closed
Fire spreads when allowed oxygen to fuel the flames – keeping doors around the house closed will help reduce airflow between rooms and, therefore, reduce the opportunities for it to progress throughout your home. It is not usual for homes to have fire resistant doors installed throughout, but it may be worth considering for some rooms. Nowadays, a fire door supplier can provide doors that are attractive and fashionable, as well as functional in regard to fire safety.
Be mindful of potential hazards
What it really means is that you should always be present when potential fire hazards are in use. Plug-in and turn on electrical appliances in rooms ONLY when you are going to be using the room – being present in the room at the point of ignition of any fire outbreak will allow to you to deal with it promptly. When in the kitchen never leave cooking unattended.
Reduce use of appliances
Heaters and fires are, obviously, a source of potential fire outbreak. Reducing the use of these appliances – and ensuring they are not left on unattended for a period of time – will help reduce that risk. Ensure that they are always a sufficient distance from furniture and flammable materials and that are allowed to cool thoroughly, once unplugged, before being stored or moved. Be especially careful with items such as heated blankets – these are often turned on to warm the bed in advance of people entering a room.
Apply basic fire safety
Being aware of, and adhering to, the basic fire safety regulations and applying basic common sense will go a long way to protecting your home from fire outbreaks. Take special care in the kitchen – especially when cooking with oil – and ensure that, if you’ve enjoyed a candle-lit evening at home, that they are all fully extinguished at the end of the day. Ensure that any fire lighting instruments are kept well away from children at all times and ensure that any heating appliance is kept clear of clutter.
