House Fire Prevention Tips

A fire department in the United States responds to a fire somewhere in the country every 86 seconds. Home fires can occur for a variety of reasons, ranging from unattended cooking to faulty heating equipment and electrical malfunction to careless smoking—but the majority of home fires are preventable.

Fortunately, keeping your family and home safe is as simple as following some basic fire prevention tips—and we've already done the legwork for you. Stay with us as we go over everything you can do to reduce your risk of a home fire and keep your family safe in the event of an emergency.

Install Fire Protection Safety Equipment

In the event of a fire, fully operational smoke detectors are your best early warning system—and a must for a quick and safe evacuation. In fact, the majority of home fire deaths occur at night while people are sleeping—but smoke alarms can cut the risk of death in a home fire by half.

Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area, and throughout the home, including the basement. The National Fire Protection Association strongly recommends installing interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home because when one goes off, they all go off, alerting the entire household. You can also buy a smoke detector as part of a complete home security system and have it monitored by a provider's monitoring center. Look for a smoke alarm that meets the Underwriters Laboratories Standard and has the UL label on the packaging when selecting the best smoke alarm. Check the date of manufacture printed on the back of the detector as well. Because devices lose sensitivity over time, the newer the detector, the safer it will be. Every ten years, smoke detectors should be replaced. For added peace of mind, you may want to consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system.

Be Safe With Electricity and Appliances

Electrical problems are a leading cause of house fires. If you need to make electrical changes in your home, always hire a qualified electrician. Here are some more electrical safety tips for home fire prevention:

Space heaters should be avoided because they are the second leading cause of home fire deaths. If you must use them, keep them at least three feet apart from other objects, keep children and pets away from them, and turn them off when you leave the house or go to bed.
Check electrical cords on a regular basis to ensure that they are not running across doorways or under rugs where they could be damaged. Replace any cracked or frayed electrical cords.
Reduce the number of plugs in an electrical outlet or power strip. Overloading an electrical outlet can cause it to trip a breaker as well as start a fire.
If an electric appliance starts smoking or emits an unusual smell, unplug it right away and have it replaced or serviced before using it again.
Use only light bulbs with the recommended wattage for each lamp.

Use Caution in the Kitchen

When you have food in the oven or on the stove, always stay in the kitchen. Deep fryers and other frying equipment are especially hazardous when it comes to potential home fires. Turn off the stove if you must leave the room, even for a few moments. Keep combustible materials away from your cooking area. Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop, such as food packaging or oven mitts and towels. Make a habit of turning pot and pan handles toward the back of the stove so that you or someone else does not accidentally bump them. Finally, if grease catches fire in a pan, immediately put a lid on the pan to smother the flames and turn off the heat source. Keep the lid on the pan until it has completely cooled.

Learn How to Use a Fire Extinguisher

Knowing how to use your fire extinguisher in the event of a fire in your home could mean the difference between inconvenience and disaster. Fire extinguishers, after all, are useful for putting out small fires before they spread, such as a grease fire in the kitchen. You can get proper training from your local fire department. You can also take the steps outlined below and go over them with your entire family to ensure your home is secure in the event of an emergency.

During an emergency, it can be difficult to think clearly. That's why the US Fire Administration devised a simple acronym to help you remember the steps involved in using a fire extinguisher. Remember the acronym PASS when extinguishing a fire:

P: Pull the pin on the fire extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you
A: Aim the extinguisher nozzle low, pointing toward the base of the fire.
S: Squeeze the handle slowly to discharge the extinguisher.
S: Swipe the nozzle side to side. Maintain the fire extinguisher aimed at the fire's base and move it back and forth until the flames are extinguished.

Avoid Smoking in the House

Although it may seem obvious to limit smoking to the outdoors, smoking in the home—including cigarettes, pipes, and cigars—caused an annual average of 17,200 home structure fires and 570 deaths. Protect your home from an easily avoidable disaster by instituting a no-smoking policy for both family and guests.