Fire Damage Restoration Expert Guide - Planning for a Home Fire
The fire damage restoration experts from Paul Davis know how serious house fires are. Not only can house fires decimate your residence and personal belongings, but they are emotionally jarring and make you feel unsafe. Fires can happen without a moment's notice and can be generated by lots of variables, and they can be out of your control such as natural disasters or your neighbor's house being on fire. But there are still some precautions you can take to decrease the risk of a house fire in your house.Get Your Home Prepped for the Prospect of a Fire & Always Have an Emergency Plan
One of the more important things you can do to plan for a house fire is to have safety rules ready. Since not all fires are preventable, being safe is essential. All properties need the proper amount of fire extinguishers and smoke alarms located around the property. You should also consider purchasing smoke alarms that trigger from smoke that is produced by electrical fires since faulty wiring is one of the primary culprits of house fires. Kids in the house should be educated on how a smoke alarm sounds when it goes off and what to do when this happens. Create fire escape routes and make sure everybody is informed of them. There should be two exits from all rooms in the home. You'll also want to have a designated meeting location outside of the home so that you're sure everybody makes it out securely. Something else you should do is protect your important things such as birth certificates, passports and photographs. You could make digital replicas and place them into a cloud drive as a backup, and you can get a strong box to keep the hard copies safe as well. Lastly, take inventory of all your personal belongings for insurance purposes in the event they're consumed by the flames.To Lessen the Hazards of a Fire in Your Residence Take These Precautions
While some fires aren't preventable, there are some things you can do to minimize the odds of a fire from developing in your house:- Fireplaces: Creosote is highly flammable and it develops in your fireplace after it's been in use, so make sure to get your fireplace cleaned and maintained routinely. Having a large, sturdy screen is also necessary to avoid sparks from entering the room and log rollovers.
- Portable Heaters: Guarantee your heater has a thermostat and a control mechanism, and it should turn off if the heater falls over.
- Smoking: Cigarettes and cigars are extreme fire hazards, and smoking outside is the best way to avoid a house fire. If you smoke inside, check that you have ashtrays with deep walls and that you never smoke in bed or while you're drowsy. Also, not under any circumstance should you smoke inside when someone in the house is on oxygen since this is extremely combustible.
- Children: Keep any matches or lighters in a location that is out of sight and out of reach from children to prevent their inquisitive nature from lighting a fire. Explain to your children that fire is not something to play with as well.
- Cooking: Always remain in the kitchen during the time you're cooking and don't leave it unattended. If you need to leave the kitchen, get somebody to watch over the food until you return.
- Appliances and Electrical: Perform a routine check on your appliances and make sure the cords and plugs are in good condition. If switches for your lights are hot to the touch, then you need to switch them out.
