Prepare Your Home in the Event of a Fire Fires are one of the most destructive disasters that can be incurred on any home. Even a small kitchen fire can cause severe fire damage to your Chicago home through smoke and flame damage. Fire damage in Chicago is a frequent and unfortunate occurrence and the danger associated with a fire in the home is severe. There were over 3,500 lives lost due to fire last year in America and an average of over 18,000 Americans injured by fire every year. With the vast majority of fires occurring within a home the need for homeowners and families to plan ahead for the event of a fire is critical to preventing the loss of property and more importantly preventing the loss of lives. Those individuals and families who do prepare and plan ahead in case of a fire are significantly more likely to survive a dangerous blaze than those who are not prepared and who do not plan ahead with safety precautions.
Preparing for a Fire For those who wish to prepare and make plans and take safety precautions but who do not know where to begin, the following are a few general guidelines that homeowners and families can take to ensure their personal and property’s safety. By following and implementing these and other guidelines a family or property owner can be assured they have taken sufficient steps in preparing for an internal fire. The initial and crucial preparation that should be taken by families is to install and maintain working smoke alarms. These can be purchased at any hardware store and are the primary fire safety precaution that should be taken. Install your smoke alarms on every level of your home and if possible in multiple rooms per level. Smoke alarms should be properly maintained by testing it monthly, cleaning and dusting it regularly and replacing the batteries once a year. A large amount of fires that begin in a home are ignited by misuse of electricity within the home. Prevent electrical fires by using electrically outlets responsibly by not overloading their circuits.
Additionally, precautions should be taken when using extension cords and other electrical wires throughout the home. These items should not be placed under rugs or over nails and should not be placed across areas of the home with common high traffic patterns like a hallway or living room. Electrical fires can also be avoided by the correct use of appliances within the home. When appliances malfunction and are in danger of causing an electrical fire there will often be warning signs that accompany those malfunctions.
Warning Signs for a Fire These warning signs include unusual smells emanating from the appliance, sparks from the electrical source of an appliance and irregular overheating. If these warning signs occur the appliance should be immediately switched off, unplugged and repaired or replaced. External heaters can also be a common source of ignition to a fire in the home. Be smart with your handling of such heating sources like portable heaters, wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, and kerosene heaters. Safety with respect to potential ignition points should be paramount when planning ahead. By taking small precautions now a family or property owner will be prepared for the future in the unfortunate event of a fire within their home.