It’s Fire Prevention Week, an annual observance that started in 1922 and aims to raise awareness about home and fire safety. While we should all practice fire prevention throughout the year, Fire Prevention Week is a great time to review the small, but important things that you can do to reduce potential fire hazards in your home. Here are our top three tips that we’ll be keeping in mind this year!
Check Your Smoke Alarm
This one is pretty obvious, but having a smoke alarm in your home will help ensure that you and your family know when danger has arisen and when to get out. Make sure that there are alarms where you need them the most: in bedrooms, outside each sleeping area and on every level of your home, including your basement. Test your alarms once a month and replace them when they have expired. By securing your home with a working smoke alarm, you can cut the risk of dying in your home by fire in half.
Did you know that installing a fire alarm may reduce your property insurance rates? Contact us today to find out more.
Don’t Turn Your Back on Your Kitchen
Cooking is the leading cause of fires and injuries in homes, and unattended cooking is the leading cause of fires in kitchens. While it may be tempting to step away from the stove for a moment—after all, you have a few minutes before you need to sear the other side, right?—you may be setting yourself up for a nasty surprise when you return. Stay in the kitchen if you are frying, boiling, or grilling food, and be sure to check on roasts and baking often. If you need to step away, be sure to turn your stove or oven off and keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop.
Stay Warm, but Stay Safe
Winter is definitely around the corner, and while it may be tempting to get all of your blankets and space heaters out so you can curl up next to your fireplace, be aware that heating equipment is the leading cause of home fires in the winter. Give your space heater some space: at least one meter of space around, and be sure to enforce this boundary with your children as well. Make sure that your fireplace and chimneys are cleaned out at least once a year before you start using them, and be sure to turn them off before you leave your home or go to bed.
