Fires do extensive damage all across the globe and cause the loss of many lives, but there are a few different guidelines that will help you prevent a fire from happening to your home. Keep in mind that freak accidents will always happen, but following these simple rules and making sure the rest of your family does, as well, will greatly reduce the chance that you will ever have a fire in your home.
Most fires start in the kitchen, so this is the area that you need to take the most caution with. The golden safety rule when you are cooking is to never leave anything unattended, whether it is on the stove or in a deep fryer, or other cooking appliance. Some people leave crock pots on all day while they are gone to work and even though many people do this without trouble, it is still not recommended. Any appliance that emits heat is a risk, but crock pots are less of a risk because they do not put out as much heat as others.
If your home has a chimney, you need to make sure that it gets cleaned thoroughly every year, even if you have to hire someone to do it for you. Creosote builds up on the inside of the chimney and this is very flammable, so getting rid of it is important to prevent a chimney fire. Chimney fires are difficult to put out, so preventing one in the first place is your best bet.
Any ashes that you throw outside from the fireplace should not be put in a combustible container outside the house, such as a cardboard box.
All flammable chemicals should be kept outside and away from the home. If you have an outdoor shed that is not attached to the house that you can put these in, that is wonderful, but not everyone has this opportunity. If you do not have anywhere to store these items outside away from the house, try to reduce the amount of these chemicals that you own or have someone else with a storage shed store them for you.
Be careful with the use of extension cords. Do not use appliances that emit heat like space heaters or electric skillets with extension cords unless you are using a heavy duty cord. Smaller cords will melt pretty quickly and leave the electrical circuitry exposed. Extension cords should also never be run underneath carpet or rugs because this will create insulation for the heat that is emitted.
Showing posts with label fire protection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fire protection. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Is Your Home Safe From Fire?
Everyone should know how to prevent fires from happening in their home and there are a number of ways that you can increase fire safety. Make sure all members of your home know these guidelines and follow them.
A common item that you can use in the kitchen to put out small fires on the stove is baking soda. Salt can also be used, but baking soda does a little bit better of a job. It might take two or three handfuls of both to put out a small fire, but this is significantly less messy than using a fire extinguisher to do this. Try to use a fire extinguishing method that is proportional to the size of the fire to avoid having a large mess.
Keep at least one 5 pound fire extinguisher in your home at all times, especially in the kitchen. If your home has more than one floor, you will want to have one on each floor, just in case.
If your oven cleans itself and locks the door, do NOT try to force the door open. It is extremely hot inside your oven, hotter than it allows you to cook things in it, and this level of heat is very dangerous. When the oven is cleaning itself, leave it alone.
All items that are labeled as being extremely flammable need to be stored outside in a separate building, if possible. If you do not have a separate building in your yard, you need to at least create an area to put them in that is not near your house.
Do not clean anything in your home with gas or turpentine. The fumes from these chemicals will settle to the floor and a spark from any electronic device could set them off. Clean items in this way outside and away from your house.
Keep combustible materials away from your furnace and other appliances that get hot. This includes space heaters that you use in the winter to keep your house warm. If you can help it, do not place these on carpeted surfaces and never use them to dry socks or gloves wet from snow or water.
Your smoke detector’s batteries need to be checked and changed regularly to make sure they will work when you need them to.
If you have a chimney, it needs to be cleaned and inspected at least once a year.
A common item that you can use in the kitchen to put out small fires on the stove is baking soda. Salt can also be used, but baking soda does a little bit better of a job. It might take two or three handfuls of both to put out a small fire, but this is significantly less messy than using a fire extinguisher to do this. Try to use a fire extinguishing method that is proportional to the size of the fire to avoid having a large mess.
Keep at least one 5 pound fire extinguisher in your home at all times, especially in the kitchen. If your home has more than one floor, you will want to have one on each floor, just in case.
If your oven cleans itself and locks the door, do NOT try to force the door open. It is extremely hot inside your oven, hotter than it allows you to cook things in it, and this level of heat is very dangerous. When the oven is cleaning itself, leave it alone.
All items that are labeled as being extremely flammable need to be stored outside in a separate building, if possible. If you do not have a separate building in your yard, you need to at least create an area to put them in that is not near your house.
Do not clean anything in your home with gas or turpentine. The fumes from these chemicals will settle to the floor and a spark from any electronic device could set them off. Clean items in this way outside and away from your house.
Keep combustible materials away from your furnace and other appliances that get hot. This includes space heaters that you use in the winter to keep your house warm. If you can help it, do not place these on carpeted surfaces and never use them to dry socks or gloves wet from snow or water.
Your smoke detector’s batteries need to be checked and changed regularly to make sure they will work when you need them to.
If you have a chimney, it needs to be cleaned and inspected at least once a year.
Are You Protecting Your Home From Wildfires?
The damage caused to homes and other property by wildfires every year is extensive, but if you are planning on building a home in a rural area where these fires are a risk, there are a few different things that you can do to help minimize the damage to your home.
Fireproof materials are what should be used in the construction of your new home and the surface of your home that presents the most amount of risk is the roof, because it has the largest amount of surface area of any part of the exterior. Your roof needs to be made of metal, tile, or fiberglass, never oil-based materials like asphalt shingles. Wooden shingles are also a very bad idea. These catch on fire pretty easily and when a wildfire is nearby, small sparks are carried on the wind and will land on your roof, causing it to catch on fire.
You also need to use materials for the exterior of the house like brick, stone, and metal, since these will offer the greatest amount of protection. Vinyl and wood siding will give you very little protection against the elements.
The windows that you have in your home are also going to be very important, since when the windows burst, it will allow the wind and firebrands into the house and everything inside will catch on fire. You should either have small windows or multi-pane windows, because large single pane windows will radiate a lot more heat.
Any trees that are close to your home should be cut down, since having this kind of vegetation near your home in a wildfire prone area is a serious risk. You should also not allow dead organic material like cut grass or dead leaves to pile up anywhere near your house. Keep these things cleared well away from the home as much as possible, but if you have neglected to do this and you have to evacuate your home because a fire is nearby, the best thing you can do is take your garden hose and soak them and the rest of the yard with water. Wetting the roof and the rest of the exterior of your home is also a good idea when a wildfire is nearby and will neutralize the threat of firebrands.
If you do choose to evacuate your home or are made to by local law enforcement, you should only take the most important things with you. Depending on how much time you are given or feel like you have, you can load up whatever valuables you need to in your vehicle, but if you are pressed for time, take money, jewelry, valuables, and etcetera.
Fireproof materials are what should be used in the construction of your new home and the surface of your home that presents the most amount of risk is the roof, because it has the largest amount of surface area of any part of the exterior. Your roof needs to be made of metal, tile, or fiberglass, never oil-based materials like asphalt shingles. Wooden shingles are also a very bad idea. These catch on fire pretty easily and when a wildfire is nearby, small sparks are carried on the wind and will land on your roof, causing it to catch on fire.
You also need to use materials for the exterior of the house like brick, stone, and metal, since these will offer the greatest amount of protection. Vinyl and wood siding will give you very little protection against the elements.
The windows that you have in your home are also going to be very important, since when the windows burst, it will allow the wind and firebrands into the house and everything inside will catch on fire. You should either have small windows or multi-pane windows, because large single pane windows will radiate a lot more heat.
Any trees that are close to your home should be cut down, since having this kind of vegetation near your home in a wildfire prone area is a serious risk. You should also not allow dead organic material like cut grass or dead leaves to pile up anywhere near your house. Keep these things cleared well away from the home as much as possible, but if you have neglected to do this and you have to evacuate your home because a fire is nearby, the best thing you can do is take your garden hose and soak them and the rest of the yard with water. Wetting the roof and the rest of the exterior of your home is also a good idea when a wildfire is nearby and will neutralize the threat of firebrands.
If you do choose to evacuate your home or are made to by local law enforcement, you should only take the most important things with you. Depending on how much time you are given or feel like you have, you can load up whatever valuables you need to in your vehicle, but if you are pressed for time, take money, jewelry, valuables, and etcetera.
Are You Protecting Your Home From Wildfires?
The damage caused to homes and other property by wildfires every year is extensive, but if you are planning on building a home in a rural area where these fires are a risk, there are a few different things that you can do to help minimize the damage to your home.
Fireproof materials are what should be used in the construction of your new home and the surface of your home that presents the most amount of risk is the roof, because it has the largest amount of surface area of any part of the exterior. Your roof needs to be made of metal, tile, or fiberglass, never oil-based materials like asphalt shingles. Wooden shingles are also a very bad idea. These catch on fire pretty easily and when a wildfire is nearby, small sparks are carried on the wind and will land on your roof, causing it to catch on fire.
You also need to use materials for the exterior of the house like brick, stone, and metal, since these will offer the greatest amount of protection. Vinyl and wood siding will give you very little protection against the elements.
The windows that you have in your home are also going to be very important, since when the windows burst, it will allow the wind and firebrands into the house and everything inside will catch on fire. You should either have small windows or multi-pane windows, because large single pane windows will radiate a lot more heat.
Any trees that are close to your home should be cut down, since having this kind of vegetation near your home in a wildfire prone area is a serious risk. You should also not allow dead organic material like cut grass or dead leaves to pile up anywhere near your house. Keep these things cleared well away from the home as much as possible, but if you have neglected to do this and you have to evacuate your home because a fire is nearby, the best thing you can do is take your garden hose and soak them and the rest of the yard with water. Wetting the roof and the rest of the exterior of your home is also a good idea when a wildfire is nearby and will neutralize the threat of firebrands.
If you do choose to evacuate your home or are made to by local law enforcement, you should only take the most important things with you. Depending on how much time you are given or feel like you have, you can load up whatever valuables you need to in your vehicle, but if you are pressed for time, take money, jewelry, valuables, and etcetera.
Fireproof materials are what should be used in the construction of your new home and the surface of your home that presents the most amount of risk is the roof, because it has the largest amount of surface area of any part of the exterior. Your roof needs to be made of metal, tile, or fiberglass, never oil-based materials like asphalt shingles. Wooden shingles are also a very bad idea. These catch on fire pretty easily and when a wildfire is nearby, small sparks are carried on the wind and will land on your roof, causing it to catch on fire.
You also need to use materials for the exterior of the house like brick, stone, and metal, since these will offer the greatest amount of protection. Vinyl and wood siding will give you very little protection against the elements.
The windows that you have in your home are also going to be very important, since when the windows burst, it will allow the wind and firebrands into the house and everything inside will catch on fire. You should either have small windows or multi-pane windows, because large single pane windows will radiate a lot more heat.
Any trees that are close to your home should be cut down, since having this kind of vegetation near your home in a wildfire prone area is a serious risk. You should also not allow dead organic material like cut grass or dead leaves to pile up anywhere near your house. Keep these things cleared well away from the home as much as possible, but if you have neglected to do this and you have to evacuate your home because a fire is nearby, the best thing you can do is take your garden hose and soak them and the rest of the yard with water. Wetting the roof and the rest of the exterior of your home is also a good idea when a wildfire is nearby and will neutralize the threat of firebrands.
If you do choose to evacuate your home or are made to by local law enforcement, you should only take the most important things with you. Depending on how much time you are given or feel like you have, you can load up whatever valuables you need to in your vehicle, but if you are pressed for time, take money, jewelry, valuables, and etcetera.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
