We all hear the many reminders of fire safety. Check your smoke detector, Change the batteries in your smoke detectors twice a year, have a fire escape plan… All of these things are important measures to help in the event of a fire, but what about ways to prevent a fire?
Preventing household fires is not only important because your home is one of the largest investments you will make, but because keeping your family safe is a huge priority. The best way to do this is to take the proper precautions that help to prevent household fires.
Here's a few fire safety tips to help keep your family and your home investment safe.
Household Fire Prevention Tips:
Keep a fire extinguisher in an easily accessible area and have it refilled every 5-6 years after the manufacture date. Check with your local fire department to see if they offer fire extinguisher refill services.
Check stovetop and oven after cooking to make sure the power is off.
Unplug space heaters while you sleep or when you leave your home.
Restrain from having anything flammable near a fireplace, heater or grill.
Make sure to never leave candles unattended in a room.
Check your dryer vent monthly for excess debris.
Try not to run the washer or dryer while you're out of the home.
If you smoke, smoke outside to reduce risk of fire starting inside, and make sure cigarettes and cigars are completely out before disposal.
Make sure you take precautions when grilling outdoors such as keeping your grill in an open area away from your home.
Keep a large distance from your home when burning brush in your yard or building a fire pit and stay with the fire until it's completely out.
Preventing Kitchen Grease Fires
One of the key areas to pay attention to when it comes to house fire prevention is your kitchen. Did you know that on average, over 172K house fires a year started in the kitchen?1 Kitchen grease fires can get out of control and escalate quickly if you're not careful.
To prevent a grease fire in your kitchen, follow these tips:
Never leave a hot pan unattended.
If your stovetop cooking is smoking due to overcooked food, turn down the heat.
Keep flammable items like cookbooks and recipe cards away from your stovetop.
Stopping A Grease Fire
It's also important to know how to stop a grease fire if it does start in your kitchen. The steps you can take to stop a grease fire on your stovetop from spreading are as following:
Smother the fire by sliding a lid over the pan.
Turn off the heat source immediately.
Leave the pan covered until it's completely cooled.
Never attempt to extinguish a grease fire with water.
Using these fire prevention tips will give you peace of mind and allow you to enjoy homeownership. At HomeFirst®, we offer insurance and home protection advice to give you just that, peace of mind.
1 “Home Cooking Fires.” NFPA report - Home cooking fires. Accessed September 13, 2019. https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/US-Fire-Problem/Home-Cooking-Fires.