Fire Damage Restoration Expert Guide - Planning for a House Fire
When it comes to challenging incidents, there are events as draining than a fire that ruins your home and personal possessions. Being a fire damage restoration company, Paul Davis knows what a dangerous hazard home fires are. Out of the blue, all it takes is two minutes before a fire sparks. A fire in your home is a terrible and emotionally exhausting situation, whether it damages everything or not. But you can act on individual things to ensure that you are ready for when a fire occurs.Have an Emergency Strategy at All Times in Position
When it comes to home fires, some of them aren't in your control and can't be avoided. That's why the most essential thing you can do is have safety strategies in place. Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers are fundamental, and make sure you have the correct number to accommodate your property. But you should think about using smoke alarms that can detect smoke from fires produced by electricity, since faulty wiring is one of the main causes of home fires. When you have children, you'll want to instruct them on how the smoke alarm sounds and what to do when in the situation where one goes off. Create emergency plans for fire routes and ensure everybody knows about them. There should always be two exits out of every room in the house. Also, you'll want to have a designated meeting area outside of the house so that you're sure everybody gets out securely. Another thing you should do is secure your important items like birth certificates, passports and photographs. You could create digital replicas and store them into cloud storage as a backup, and you can purchase a fire safe box to keep the real copies secure too. Finally, take inventory of all your personal possessions for insurance reasons in case they're burned up by the flames.Things to Keep in Mind to Decrease House Fire Risk
Although some fires are out of your power, here are some safety measures you should implement to avoid a home fire:- Fireplaces: It's fundamental to consistently clean and examine your fireplace and chimney for creosote and other damage. Use a fireplace screen that is durable and large enough to catch flying sparks and prevent logs from rolling.
- Portable Heaters: It is imperative to relocate any combustible or flammable items at least three feet away from a space heater. {Additionally,} you'll want your heater to have a control mechanism too and other features for safety such as turning off if it falls over.
- Smoking: Inside smoking makes your house susceptible to home fires, so the best method to avoid a disaster is to smoke outside. When you do smoke inside, make sure you have proper ashtrays to prevent a cigar or cigarette from rolling onto the ground. But if somebody in the home is on oxygen, do not smoke inside because oxygen is extremely combustible.
- Children: Store any matches or lighters in a location that is out of sight and out of reach from children to stop their inquisitive nature from lighting a fire. Teach your children that fire is not a toy too.
- Cooking: Stay in the area at all times while food is in the oven or on the stove and don't leave it alone. When you need to leave the area, get somebody to keep an eye on the food until you come back.
- Appliances and Electrical: Make sure to do a periodic examination on your appliances and ensure the plugs and cords are in working condition. Also, when switches for your lights are hot to the touch, then you need to switch them out.
