Home Fire Safety Inspection

Most Common Causes of Home Fires

Heating and electrical appliances, smoking materials and improper cooking procedures lead to the most common causes of fires in the home.

Routine Home Safety Inspection

To help reduce your chance of having a fire or other emergency in your home, routine home safety inspections should be done by occupants of the home. In most cases, these inspections will only take a few minutes.

Organizing the Inspection

An organizational walk-through of your home will assure that all areas of your home get inspected. For example, if you have a two-story home, start upstairs and work your way to the bottom floor. If you have a single-story home, start at the front door and work your way towards the garage, being sure to inspect each room.

Performing the Inspection

Heating Equipment that should be inspected includes your furnace, fireplace, and portable floor heaters. Check furnaces to be sure filters are clean. Electrical cords and wiring should be approved for the appliance they are supplying. Fireplaces should be kept clean, have a spark screen, and chimneys should periodically be cleaned.

Electrical Appliances exist throughout your home. Refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, and lamps are of course just a few. Each appliance should be checked individually to determine if the electrical cord is worn or frayed and in need of replacing. Garages and storage areas where electrical cords are frequently used should also be inspected.

Extension Cords should never be used to provide permanent power to large appliances such as refrigerators and microwaves. Extension cords can be used to provide power to smaller appliances such as typewriters and adding machines. Multi-plug adapters are also sold for temporary use and should never be overloaded. Remember, the electrical sockets on your wall are designed to have two cords plugged into them. More than two may overload the socket and cause a fire.

Smoking Materials such as cigarettes and pipes can be particularly dangerous if your home is not properly prepared to deal with them. The best way to keep smoking materials from starting a fire in your home is to not have them in your home. However, if someone in your home does smoke, providing ashtrays and keeping matches away from children will decrease the chance of an accidental fire. Smoking while in bed is dangerous and should never be allowed.

Cooking Procedures can also be dangerous. Stove and oven controls should be in the off position when not being used. The grease collector under the broiler should be cleaned after each use. If your gas stove does not ignite within a few seconds, have it inspected by your local gas company.

Fire Extinguishers should be located in your home so that they may be reached quickly in case of a small fire. Be sure the fire extinguisher is fully charged and all members of your family know where they are located. A fire extinguisher in the garage is also a good place for a fire extinguisher. Of course, knowing how to use the fire extinguisher is very important.

Smoke Detectors should be located on every level of your home as well as outside of each bedroom. For added protection, smoke detectors should also be located in each bedroom and in the kitchen, basement, and attic. According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly one-third of all smoke detectors have dead or missing batteries. Be sure to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors every six months.