Make Your Glastonbury House Fire-Safe

10/29/2020 (Permalink)

Follow these three steps to help make your home fire-safe ... or make it easier to survive a house fire if one occurs.

Did you know that during your house’s lifetime, it has a one in four chance of catching on fire? That in the United States, a home fire is reported at least every 90 seconds? That 30% of all fires in the U.S. occur in residences? That fires kill more people in America than all natural disasters put together? And, are you aware that the single most likely day for a fire to start in your home is Thanksgiving, with 1,600 fires starting on that day each year?

These are sobering statistics, but there is so much you can do to reduce the chances of having a house fire and increase the odds of your family surviving a fire if you do have one.

It’s a fact that today’s house fires are more deadly and destructive than those of a few decades ago. That’s because your home today is filled with furnishings, like couches, chairs and carpets, that are made of synthetic materials. These synthetics are faster to ignite, burn hotter and create more poisonous chemicals when burned. Twenty or thirty years ago, a homeowner had around 15 minutes to escape a house fire, but now that timeframe is down to only 3 to 4 minutes.

Fire Risks in Your House

With these hotter, faster and more dangerous fires, you can no longer assume that you’ll be able to get out of a burning house. You have to make sure, and that means prevention and preparation. Let’s start with a look at some of the major fire hazards in your home.

The Kitchen

Forty-four percent of all home fires start in the kitchen, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). A fire in a kitchen can easily result in more than $50,000 in property damage.

Here are some guidelines for safe cooking:

• Remain alert, sober and focused when cooking.
• Keep your stovetop, vents, oven interior and countertops clean of grease and clutter.
• Clear the stovetop and nearby area of flammable items like potholders, oven mitts and dish towels.
• Keep a pan lid nearby in case you have to quickly cover a stovetop fire to extinguish it.
• Remain in the kitchen if you’re frying, boiling, grilling or broiling. If you have to leave briefly, turn the stove off.
• Stay close to the kitchen and check your food frequently if you’re simmering, baking or roasting.
• Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the stove to prevent both burns and fires.
• Turn pot handles to the back of the stove to avoid bumping them and spilling contents.
• Never store items in the oven.
• Have a fire extinguisher within easy reach of your cooking area.

The Garage

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, each year in our country there are approximately 6,600 home garage fires that cause more than $457 million in property losses. Garage fires grow larger and spread further than fires that originate in other areas of the home, typically because many people keep electrical equipment and fuel in their garages. If that’s you, consider installing a smoke alarm in your garage—even better, one that is interconnected to a hardwired alarm system.

Fireplace and Heating

One in five residential fire deaths stem from fires that start in the fireplace or heating equipment.

• For fireplaces, the greatest cause of fires is an uncleaned chimney. Hire a professional chimney cleaner every year to remove built-up creosote and to inspect the masonry.
• Use a fire screen to keep hot ashes and cinders inside the fireplace.
• Thoroughly extinguish your fire and properly dispose of the ashes in a tightly-closed metal container that you place outside your house away from any structures.
• If using a wood-burning or other stove to heat, be sure the stove itself is in good working order, with no cracks or other damage.
• Keep all items, children and pets three feet away from the stove or heater.
• For space heaters, only use ones that are approved by UL or another national testing laboratory. Ideally, it should have an automatic shut-off switch.
• Turn space heaters off when you leave the room or go to sleep.

Wiring

Faulty or worn wiring causes 2,600 electrical fires each year in America, leading to $1.1 billion in damage. The next section lists best practices to follow to make sure your wiring is less likely to cause a fire.

Step 1: Make Your House Fire-Safe

Obviously, the easiest way to survive a fire in your Glastonbury home is not to have one in the first place. Read on for the many things you can and should do to eliminate common fire hazards.

You can start with an inspection by your local fire department. They’ll review potential fire hazards, such as your electrical system, and show you ways to be safer. They’ll also check your smoke detectors to make sure they’re in good working order.

• Look for fraying or other indications of wear on your lamps’ and appliances’ electrical cords. Repair or replace the appliance or the cord. Never run cords under a rug.
• Evaluate your extension cords, too. You should never have multiple extension cords plugged into the same outlet or strung together in a chain.
• Make sure your outlets are all covered by switch plates and have no exposed wiring.
• If any light switches make a buzzing sound, spark or throw heat, have the switch replaced by an electrician.
• If any of your lights flicker, call an electrician to check your wiring.
• Check your lamps’ wattage to make sure your bulbs are the correct wattage.
• Clean out the lint after every use of your clothes dryer and clean the dryer duct periodically, too. Hire a technician each year to inspect and clean the dryer.
• Make sure that your windows open easily and your doors open from the inside without a key.
• Install a visible house number on your home, so that your fire department can find your home quickly, even at night.
• Purge your home of clutter that can easily ignite, such as papers, magazines and piles of clothing. Each sleeping area and its path to escape should be clear of debris.

Step 2: Invest in Fire Safety Equipment

Fire safety equipment alerts your family to a fire and gives you time to escape. Get the right equipment, keep it in good working order and know how to use it—and it could save your life.

Having working smoke alarms in your home cuts your risk of dying in a house fire in half. You should have at least one alarm for every 1200 SF in your home.

• Install at least one alarm on each floor of your house and one near each bedroom or sleeping area.
• Test your alarms each month, replace the batteries each year, and replace your alarms every five years.
• Only use alarms that are approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or another independent testing laboratory.
• Don’t paint your smoke alarms.
• You can gently clean your alarm of dust or dirt with a vacuum cleaner attachment.

There are several different types of smoke alarms:

• Battery-powered alarms that you can easily install. Don’t place them too close to doors, windows, vents or ceiling fans.
• Interconnected hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup; you’ll need an electrician to install these.
• Consider combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to place outside every sleeping area and near the fireplace, garage, furnace, water heater and clothes dryer.

With a fire extinguisher you’ll have a chance to put out a fire before it grows out of control. Studies show that a home fire can be extinguished in less than two minutes 94% of the time.

• Multi-purpose Class ABC extinguishers are light enough to handle and large enough to put out a small house fire.
• Learn how to operate the fire extinguishers so that you can use them in an emergency.
• Every year, get your extinguishers serviced and, if needed, recharged.
• When using an extinguisher, think P-A-S-S: 
  —Pull the pin to unlock. 
  —Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire. 
  —Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly. 
  —Sweep the nozzle from side to side.
• Install fire extinguishers near doors. When using the extinguisher, stand with your back to the door so you can escape if the fire goes out of control. If the room fills with smoke, you and your family must evacuate.

For even more protection, you could install a home fire sprinkler system, which can automatically douse a small house fire before it spreads. These systems are most cost-effective to install when you are building or remodeling your home.

Step 3: Have and Practice a Plan to Escape a Fire

Seventy-one percent of American homeowners have a plan to escape their home in the event of a fire, but only 47% of those practice the plan.

First, create an escape plan:

• Draw a diagram of your house with windows and doors marked.
• Choose two ways to escape from each room, generally through a door and window.
• Identify a place to meet a safe distance from your house. That’s where you’ll call 911 from a cell phone or neighbor’s house.

If you have children, review these safety facts regularly:

• No matter how scared they are, they should never hide in a closet or under a bed during a fire.
• Don’t try to take any items or possessions.
• Don’t re-enter the house for any reason.
• Don’t try to search for and rescue pets.
• Before opening a door, touch the knob with the back of your hand. If hot, leave the door shut and exit the room a different way.

Because you’ll only have a few short minutes, you and your family must be familiar with the escape plan:

• Practice the plan at least twice a year. One of the drills should be at night, when most house fires start.
• You may need to stay low and below the smoke in an actual fire, so practice crawling out of bedrooms and the house.
• Time the drill and rerun it if your family doesn’t get out fast enough.
• If you have bedrooms on the second floor, you may want to invest in escape ladders. Practice installing and using them.

SERVPRO® Can Help After a House Fire

If your house has burned, your home and its contents may have suffered extensive fire damage, including smoke, heat and water damage. Expect furniture, curtains and other furnishings—including your clothes—to be soot-covered and smell like smoke. Appliances that don’t look damaged may have components melted by heat. Anything that was sprayed by a fire hose can grow mold within 48 hours. Your house may even be at risk of collapse.

Recovering from a house fire is a big job. SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield can fully restore your home and all its contents. SERVPRO’s experienced crew will arrive promptly to handle the restoration job from start to finish:

• We start by evaluating the damage.
• We clear out property that’s destroyed beyond repair.
• We remove, inventory and store your property in our secure warehouse.
• We use a range of techniques to clean your possessions of smoke, soot and water damage.
• We perform construction to rebuild your home.
• We coordinate with your insurer to move your claim along promptly.
• Finally, we return your possessions, leaving you a home in pre-fire condition.

We’re Here for You

The team at SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield has specialized training and experience in fire restoration services, natural disaster and storm damage cleanup, water damage remediation and chemical cleanup. Call SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield (860.633.8791) any time.

When you have suffered a fire or other disaster at your home or business, call SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield today at 860.633.8791

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When you have suffered a fire or other disaster at your home or business, call SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield today at 860.633.8791