Home Fire Protection

At a minimum, you should have fire detectors installed in every area of your home. Every year nearly 4,000 Americans die in fires and more than 25,000 are injured. It is essential that you take a few precautionary steps in order to better your odds at surviving a fire in your home.

Fire detectors can be stand alone devices or they can be part of an overall home security system that is monitored by an alarm company. If your fire detectors are monitored by a service company then you will have the added benefit of a quick response by the fire department and you will have the peace of mind in knowing that help is on the way. Your other option is to go ahead and just buy equipment and install it yourself.

Have an Escape Plan

After installing smoke alarms, the next most important factor in making your home more safe in case of fire is to have an escape plan. Studies show that most people don't have an escape plan. In fact, more than 75% of all households do not have a fire escape plan in order. Keep in mind that if a fire is detected in your home, the only thing that should be on your mind is getting out of the house and making sure that your children have safely escaped. You could have as little as 2 minutes to get out to safety.

The first thing that you need to do is have a family meeting and come up with a fire escape plan. Your plan should be as simple as possible so that everyone will have an easier time committing the plan to memory. You should consider drawing a map of your house that details the escape routes. The next thing that you should do is have a fire drill. You should proactive your fire evacuation once every three months so that you can keep the escape routes in your memory banks.

Key Parts to an Effective Fire Escape Plan

• Get out of the building ASAP! There should be no excuses for going back into a burning house.
• Someone should be assigned to assist small children, older adults or family members with disabilities in case of an emergency. It is important to have these assignments detailed out as part of your fire escape plan.
• Make sure that your street number is clearly visible from your road.
• While you are checking to make sure that your street number is clearly visible from your road, you should also check to make sure that all escape routes have been cleared of obstacles and that all doors and windows can be easily opened.
• Windows and doors that have security bars should have emergency release devices.
• You need to pick an outside meeting place for your family. This should be a central location where everyone can meet after an emergency.

Fireplaces, Furnaces and Other Frequent Fire Fears

Fireplaces pose special fire risks. You need to keep in mind that with a fireplace, you are bringing fire into your home on purpose. You should not keep newspapers, kindling, or matches close to your fireplace. Exposed rugs and wooden floors in front of your fireplace are a concern as well. You also need to have your chimney inspected by a professional before each winter. A chimney spark arrester is a good investment and can help to prevent a fire on your roof.

Another possibly dangerous appliance in the home is the clothes dryer. The clothes dryer can also cause a fire in your. You should never leave your home with the clothes dryer running. You should also never go to bed with it running. Dryers need to be vented to the outside of your home rather than into a wall or to the attic. The lint screen should be cleaned on a regular basis. Frequently cleaning can help to keep the airway clear. Yo should also be careful about the types of items that you put in your clothes dryer. You should never put anything that contains synthetic fabrics, plastic, rubber, or foam into your clothes dryer because these types of items retain heat.

In general, the kitchen is one of the most dangerous places in the home. This is especially true when it comes to fire. It only makes sense since after all, you do purposefully create fires in your kitchen. In fact, careless cooking is the leading cause of fires in the home. Studies show that 76% of all home fires are related to cooking.

The first rule to follow is to never leave your cooking unattended. You should also keep a fire extinguisher about 10-15 feet away from your stove on the exit side of your kitchen. Make sure that you and your other family members understand how to use the fire extinguisher in case of a fire emergency. Avoid storing anything on the top of your stove. When you do cook, be sure to wear clothes that fit tight so that you can avoid having your clothes catch fire. You also need to use common sense with your microwave oven. In particular, pay attention to the types of items that can be safely cooked in a microwave.

Some Super Scary Statistics

If these statistics scare you then that is probably a good thing. That just means that you are normal. Hopefully it will motivate you to take the needed steps so that your family can be safe. So read these statistics and then you might finally stop putting off getting around to taking care of the fire protection issues in your home.

• A person dies from a home fire around once every 2 hours in the United States.
• A fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the US every 20 seconds.
• Around one half of all home fire deaths in the United States is a result of a fire that occurred between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. However, only 1/4 of all home fires occur between those hours. In other words, most home fires happen in the day time but most deadly fires happen at night while people are sleeping.
• Overall, smoking is the main cause of home fire deaths but December through February heating equipment causes a similar number of deaths by fire in the home.
• Heating equipment is also a major cause of fire in the home. However, it is a distant second from the number one cause which is cooking in the kitchen.
• Deaths that are caused by fires and burns are the fifth most common cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States.
• Most fire related deaths are caused by smoke or toxic gases and not by actual burns.
• Men account for $4.8 billion (64%) of the total costs of fire and burn injuries.
• Alcohol is involved in two out of every five residential fire deaths.
• Children 4 and under and adults that are 65 and older are at an increased risk of fire-related injuries and deaths.
• Around 50% of home fire deaths happen in homes that don't have smoke alarms.

Basic Tips and Best Practices

Every member of your family should know how to dial 911 in case of an emergency. There should be at least two exits from every room in your home. Fire escape ladders should be added to all upstairs bedrooms.

Your family should have a fire drill practice once every six months. You need to designate a landmark where family members can meet after they escape from a fire in your home. Children should be taught to not hide from fire under their beds or in other places where fire and rescue personnel will not easily be able to find them.

Sleeping with your bedroom doors closed will help to keep deadly heat and smoke out of your bedrooms. This is important because it can give you and your family more time to escape. If there is a fire in your home, don't waste any time putting on clothes or searching for jewelry or pets. Teach your family to just get out of the house as fast as possible by using the routes that you have chosen in your family escape plan.

Teach your children and other family members to roll out of their beds and stay low to the floor. On the way out of the house you should feel the doors for heat and avoid opening doors that are hot to the touch. If someone does happen to catch fire, they need to stop, drop and roll. Practice all of these techniques on a regular basis and you will be one step ahead when it comes to keeping your family safe from a fire in your home.