Nine Fire Safety Tips To Protect Your House

Just the idea of a home fire sends chills down the backs of most homeowners. And while you have homeowners insurance nothing beats a little safety prevention, don't you agree? The sad thing is that this time of year when the temperature drops quicker than the price of a dot com stock we see a increas in house fires. In this article we will discuss a few fire safety tips for your your home.

1. Smoke detectors: Come November 1, it is a helpful reminder to swap out your smoke detector batteries whether you need to or not! By the way if you hear a chirping from your smoke detector then that means the battery is dead and it needs to be replaced. Don't make the mistake of unplugging your smoke detector to stop the annoying sound. Remember that chirping is a warning that could save your childrens lives.
2. Monitored Smoke Detectors: You may be thinking I have a smoke detector already. The smoke detectors that are hard wired into your 120 volt electrical panels, will make a loud noise in the case of fire but will NOT call the fire station if you are out of town or knocked unconscious from by breathing in smoke. A monitored smoke detector or heat detector can be added to your existing security system. Expect to pay about $110 for one to be installed. Call a few security companies to find one that will not charge you additional monitoring fees. Call your insurance agent and tell them about this so they can give you an additional discount if available.
3. Fire extinguishers: As cheap as these are you should pick one up for your home and another as a gift for your friends this year. Keep at least of one in your house. Keep it near the kitchen as this is where most fires are started. insist it is rated for grease fires!
4. Sprinkler systems: Add a sprinkler system to automatically go off when there is a fire. Your insurance company will decrease your premiums when you do.
5. Kitchen fires: Never leave food cooking on the stove unattended. Teach your children about the dangers of this. Don't forget about BBQ grills too. Keep them away from the sides of your homes. You will not believe how quickly a home with vinyl siding can melt or even catch fire if too close to your grill.
6. Using candles: Be careful when using candles. Do not leave them unattended. Educate your children about the dangers of playing with candles and matches.
7. Space Heaters: Space heaters can take the chill out of the room. However, they are NEVER to be used with an extension cord. This is a fire just waiting to happen. Also don't forget to never plug in 2 heaters in the same room as they will trip the circuit breaker or compromise old wiring.
8. Electrical fires: Worn frayed extension cords top the list for starting electrical fires. Once a year you should visibly check all extension cords for twisting and fraying. Discard damaged ones immediately. To help prevent this a law has been passed that all bedrooms in new homes are now protected with arc fault circuit breakers. These breakers detect if an electrical arc or spark occurs and immediately turns off the electricity to the outlet. This will save thousands of lives each year. You may want to consider adding these to your home if you do not have them now. Contact an electrician to do so.
9. Fire places: NEVER use gasoline to help start the fires. (Don't laugh many people receive burns all over their body by doing this each year.) Make sure the flue is open and please don't leave fires unattended. Finally, do not forget to have your chimney cleaned out by a pro to prevent flash fires.

We hope these helpful fire safety tips will help to protect you and your loved ones this winter.