Protect yourself and your family against fires by avoiding these common mistakes, some of which might surprise you.
In the chilly months of winter, one of the last things many of us think about is the risk of fire. That said, fires can and do happen, and according to The Red Cross half of all fires caused by home heating occur between December and February. A recent fire in the Bronx, which left 17 people dead, was started by a space heater.
While home heating is one of the biggest causes of home fires, there are many other reasons why a fire might start in your home. The best way to protect yourself and your family from the risk of fire is to stay informed about potential fire hazards. We’ve looked into some of the top fire risks in the home, and how you can stay safe by taking some simple and effective precautions.
5 Common Causes of House Fires and How to Prevent Them
Kitchen Fires
Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries, and nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires are started when cooking is left unattended. The biggest takeaway about kitchen fires is that you should never leave your cooking unattended. If you’re using your stove or oven on low heat, you don’t need to be in the kitchen the whole time, but check in frequently and don’t leave the house while the heat is still on. If you’ve got a pet, remove the knobs on your stove or cover them in a way that your pet cannot get to them before leaving the house.
When cooking, avoid wearing anything that could catch fire, like loose sleeves, and keep anything flammable away from your oven and stove. Finally, make sure to keep your oven and stovetop clean to prevent grease fires. If a grease fire does start on your stovetop, do not throw water on it. If you don’t have a fire extinguisher, smother the flames with a pan lid.
Heating Fires
Space heaters or other types of heating equipment are the cause of one of every six home fires. Most of these fires are caused when a flammable object is placed too close to a space heater and catches on fire. That’s why it is crucial to keep anything flammable at least three feet away from any heating devices — this includes fabric like rugs and curtains. If your device is on the floor, try to place it on a non-flammable surface like tile, or on a level, non-flammable table. Many new models of space heaters will turn off automatically if they fall over, so if you’re in the market for a new heater consider purchasing one with this safety feature.
If you use a fireplace, never leave it unattended. When you’re ready to turn in for the night, ensure that all embers are extinguished. Get your chimney inspected and cleaned at least once a year, and anytime you use your fireplace, use a metal or glass screen to keep flying embers from escaping.
Appliance Fires
On the hit TV show This Is Us, an old pressure cooker started a fire in the family’s home. But did you know that dryers account for nine out of 10 appliance fires? The best way to stop these fires from happening is by cleaning out the lint screen every single time you use the dryer.
Items that can overheat, like laptops or televisions, should be kept away from anything flammable. Consumer Reports found that most home fires from appliances that were not caused by human error were started because of a fault or issue in the appliance itself. Periodically check to make sure that none of the high-risk fire appliances in your home, like dishwashers, refrigerators, and stove ranges, have been recalled.
Electrical Fires
Electrical fires are often caused by faulty wiring, or when circuits are overloaded. When it comes to circuits, the best way to avoid electrical fires is to make sure that as many appliances as possible have their own outlets, which may mean using extension cords. That said, you should always check that an extension cord or power strip can handle whatever is plugged into it. For example, most space heaters consume a considerable amount of electricity, which can overwhelm extension cords. If you do use extension cords for items that don’t use as much electricity, like lamps, try not to run the extension cords under rugs — this may cause the cord to overheat. If you notice any electrical cords are frayed or show exposed wires, replace them immediately.
How to Protect Yourself
There are many other ways that a fire can start in your home, including accidents from smoking and unwatched candles. Regardless of how a fire might start in your home, you want to be alerted to it immediately and be prepared to put it out before it spreads. The number one way to protect your home is with a smoke alarm — having a working smoke alarm reduces one’s chances of dying in a fire by nearly half. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) recommends testing smoke detectors at least once a month and replacing the batteries at least once or twice a year. There should be a smoke alarm installed in every room where someone sleeps, as well as outside each sleeping area, in the kitchen, and at least one on every floor of a home. If you’re thinking, “wow, I need to get more smoke detectors for my house,” you can get a highly rated basic smoke detector for under ten dollars. If you need help purchasing or installing a smoke detector, the Red Cross’s Sound The Alarm program can help you with both.
As an extra safety precaution, you should keep a fire extinguisher in the places where a fire is most likely to start, or where you spend the most time in your home — so in the kitchen, by the fireplace or space heater, in the bedrooms, and anywhere that you have a lot of tightly-packed flammable material like a garage or basement. You should also have at least one on each floor of your home.
Finally, in the event that a fire does happen in your home and gets out of control, you should have an escape plan. There should be two potential exits from each room — this might mean having to go through a window, so make sure that if you have windows in your home that have been locked for years, that they’re still easy to open when unlocked. Once you establish escape routes in your home, try to keep these pathways clear of clutter at all times, but especially before bed. This is essential so people can evacuate the house as quickly as possible, but also because if you need to escape from dense smoke, you should crawl as low to the ground as possible. If there’s anyone in your home who might need extra help during a fire, like a toddler or an older resident, make sure to come up with an escape plan that meets their needs and practice it so they understand what to do in the unlikely event they need to use it.
