Top Tips to Prevent House Fires

5/8/2021 (Permalink)

This kitchen fire spread quickly and damaged multiple floors of the home.

Fire Prevention Month may not be until October, but how to prevent a house fire is something you should be thinking of and know year-round instead of just one month. 

• Test your smoke and fire detectors regularly. Yes, you should change their batteries (if they’re not hard-wired into your house) twice a year when Daylight Savings Time begins and ends. But your smoke alarms need to be tested more than that. In fact, the US Fire Administration (USFA) actually recommends testing smoke and fire alarms monthly. 
• Stay in the kitchen while you’re cooking. This may seem like common sense, but it’s easy to get distracted by a phone call or quickly going to throw on a load of laundry. In that time, a grease fire could start. 
• Don’t charge your phone on your bed. Instead, place it on a flat surface that provides room for any generated heat to release.
• Blow out candles. This should be done before you leave a room, leave your home, or go to sleep for the night to avoid fire damage from a lit candle. 
• Clean your dryer. Specifically, clean out the lint trap after every cycle to prevent a dryer fire from lint build-up. 
• Use space heaters safely. The National Fire Protection Association states that space heaters cause 43 percent of home heating-related fires.
• Look out for faulty wiring. If your lights are flickering, or a light switch feels warm or hot to the touch, turn off the power and call an electrician immediately. 

If a fire does happen, there can be residual soot and smoke damage from the fire to your furnishings, clothes, and possessions that needs to be remediated. Contact the Massachusetts fire damage restoration experts at SERVPRO of Danvers / Ipswich for a fire damage assessment for remediation and rebuilding of your home.