Fifty-eight people died in fires since the beginning of 2015. By taking precautionary steps and doing regular home safety inspections, you can help prevent this number from increasing.
By conducting regular home safety inspections for fire hazards and by maintaining smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in peak condition, you may save your life and the lives of your loved ones. Also, teach your children and older adults living with you about what to do if a fire starts. These two age brackets are the most vulnerable when fire rages.
Maintenance of Smoke Alarms:
Smoke alarms are great life savers during fire. Make sure to have working smoke alarms in your home.
Statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration:
- Three out of five home fire deaths take place in homes without working smoke alarms.
- Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half.
If you maintain smoke alarms in good working order, they will alert you to the fire with enough time to get everyone out of the house and possibly with enough time to extinguish the fire before it causes too much damage.
Maintenance of Fire Extinguishers:
If you know how to use a fire extinguisher, it is an excellent fire-fighting tool. You can keep up with maintenance by:
- Making sure that working parts such as the can, hoses, and nozzles are not damaged or rusted.
- Keeping it free from any dust, oil, or grease.
Also, make sure before any fire occurs that you understand the directions and how to use the extinguisher. You might want to purchase an additional extinguisher of the same make and model and do a test run.
Proactive Education for Children:
Even if you have taken enough measures to make your home child-proof and safe, teach your children fire safety at home:
- Educate them about the hazards associated with matches, lighters, and gas stoves.
- Make a fire escape plan and that your children fully understand.
- Teach them how to escape their bedrooms in case fire blocks the door, and have them practice it.
Proactive Education for Older Adults:
Statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration project that those 60 and above are nearly 3 times more likely to die in a fire than those in the general population. Here are some tips for them:
- Choose a room on the ground floor to sleep in. This will allow for an easier escape.
- Ensure that smoke alarms and fire alarms are working.
- Conduct regular fire drills.
- Depending on their state of mind, don’t let them have candles, and other fire hazards in the room.
Protect yourself from home fires with these simple proactive steps. If you’re in the market to sell your house, or purchase a new one, or would simply like a basic overall inspection done on the major systems and structural integrity of your home to know which areas need repair or will need watching, please contact South Florida Home Inspection Assoc or call 561-818-5593 for more information.
Also see: http://www.sfloridahomeinspection.com/got-a-fireplace-in-your-home-use-it-safely/
