In areas like Reno, where temperatures can reach up 92 degrees during summer, fire hazards can be devastating. Everything is just so dry and fire can spread quickly in certain areas.
According to theU.S. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire departments respond to a fire every 24 seconds. From 2013-2017, there were more than 300,000 cases of fire ravaging residential areas.
Many home fires can be prevented. Keep your family and property safe with some fire safety measures.
Install Smoke Detectors and Fire Extinguishers
Many incidents of fire occur at night when people are asleep. Set up a warning mechanism by installing smoke detectors on every floor and in as many rooms as possible. Of course, the one in the kitchen needs to be far away from where you cook or you might have cases of false alarms.
Ideally, install ones that are interlinked so that all the devices will issue an alarm even though the fire is only in one room. You’ll hear the alarm even if you’re asleep and far away from the source of the fire.
Make sure that all devices are maintained properly. If you have individual units, always make sure that the batteries in the devices are working.
Couple fire detectors with fire extinguishers placed in strategic areas. Make sure that you know how to use the fire extinguisher that you will buy for your home.
Be Careful When You Cook
According to the NFPA, about 173,200 incidents of residential fires started from activities related to cooking. So, never leave any cooking equipment unattended. This is vitally important for frying equipment like deep fryers and grills since these spew out hot oil and embers.
Also, make sure that you don’t keep combustibles near your stove or oven. A flambé may look nice, but it won’t be pretty if you start an accidental fire.
Don’t smoke in the house, especially not in the kitchen. You have hot oil and open fire in this area. A single ember from your cigarette could start a big fire.
Ask A Professional to Check Electrical Wirings
Many fire incidents happen because of faulty electrical wiring. Unless you’re a qualified electrician, don’t tinker with your house’s electrical system. Leave that to the pros.
What you can do is to make sure that electrical cords are not frayed. Don’t let them run under carpets or across doors where they will be damaged by constant foot traffic.
Don’t overload an outlet. Limit the number of plugged gadgets draining electricity from the outlets. Otherwise, you might trip the breaker and start a fire.
Conduct Regular Maintenance of Appliances
Try to avoid portable heaters. If you have to use them, make sure that they are maintained properly. Heating equipment is second only to cooking equipment when it comes to causes of home fires.
But don’t neglect your other appliances. Some of them can cause fires if overused or left uncleaned. For example, did you know that a clothes dryer can cause a fire?
A dryer sucks a lot of lint as it dries clothes. The dryer’s lint screen catches about 40% of this material. The rest of it clogs the dryer vent. If the vent is not cleaned, then there’s a chance that it could blow up.
To prevent such an accident, have a professional conduct dryer vent cleaning at least once a year.
If you smell something burning or notice that your dryer is taking a long time to do its job, have a professional do dryer vent cleaning ASAP. Your appliance is already at a critical point.
Fires can cause millions of damage. More tragically, it can cause severe injury and even death. By implementing some safety measures, you can lessen the risks of a home fire from happening to your family and property.