Our homes are extremely important in our lives whether we admit it or not. It’s a place to rest, come home to, and spend time with our friends and family— it’s our refuge.
With the pandemic this year, most of us have to work remotely at home— increasing the time we spend in the house.
Imagine something horrible happening to it, like a house fire. It’s a scary thought, right? Another scary thought is that house fires are a common occurrence, especially if you’re not careful.
According to the USFA, there were 376,000 house fires in 2018 and around 50% of these fires were caused by incidents in the kitchen. The other causes include heating, electrical malfunction, and pure carelessness.
To avoid and reduce the chances of a housefire, we recommend taking action by fireproofing your home with these tips.
Steps For Fireproofing Your Home
Check your electrical equipment
Take a look at your power sockets and electrical equipment in your house. These are often overlooked because they are hidden. Despite their sturdy exterior, a damaged power socket or electrical equipment can cause house fires.
To prevent this from happening, reduce the chances of faulty wiring or broken circuits by getting them inspected by a professional. If they find any issues, you can get it fixed so they are safe to use. Don’t miss this step when fireproofing your home.
Store your flammable materials correctly
Oftentimes, we store our flammables in the basement. It’s the perfect spot to hide those giant bottles and dangerous chemicals. Some houses have their heating system placed in their basement as well.
This can be dangerous since a basement has limited ventilation and is at risk for fires even without a spark.
To prevent this, we suggest fireproofing your home and storing your flammable materials in a safe place with no heating systems and far away from electrical appliances such as a cool and well-ventilated space.
Pay attention to where you place your appliances
Your appliances are bound to break down over time. So, it’s important to check on them regularly and see if they need repairs or if you need to replace them. If your electrical appliances start to malfunction, their safety measures will stop working. This can be dangerous and might be prone to starting fires.
We suggest placing your appliances away from flammable materials and a dry place. If you put them in your basement, check the location for moisture since this can cause electrical shorts.
If you’re in doubt, simply move your appliances away from any flammable materials. This is a smart move when fireproofing your home.
Get smoke detectors and sprinklers installed
If your home doesn’t have smoke detectors or a sprinkler system, we suggest getting one, pronto. This is essential in fireproofing your home. Although it doesn’t prevent fires from happening, it helps detect a fire early on and put it out the best it can.
By detecting a fire early, it gives you time to escape from the house before the damage is too severe. It also gives firefighters the opportunity to salvage any parts of the house.
We definitely recommend installing it in your basement since it carries the biggest risk when a house fire happens. Their lack of exits and ventilation makes them highly flammable. Fire damage restoration in a basement can also be really costly, so it’s better to take the extra precautions.
It’s important to check the air quality in your home as well with a device like Airthings Wave Plus. It measures radon, TVOCs, carbon dioxide, humidity, temperature and air pressure and alerts you on your phone through an app if anything is wrong. This is another great step to making your home safe for your family.
Inspect your electric panel
Your electric panel generally needs to be replaced every 25-40 years. You should regularly check your panels in case there are any faulty wiring or broken circuits. If you are in doubt, it’s wise to get it checked by a professional.
Electric panels play a huge role in our homes. Nowadays, our electricity usage is increasing at a steady rate. We’re constantly using it to charge our devices and our homes practically run on electricity.
Old electric panels are simply not built for this kind of use and will likely break down over time. To prevent any problems with your panel, make sure that it’s up to date and well maintained. If it has been more than 25 years, then it’s time to get an electric panel upgrade. This is an important step in fireproofing your home.
Final Thoughts
In the end, we all want to live in our homes safely. Fires are unpredictable and difficult to recover from. By taking preventative measures, childproofing your yard, and being cautious, the chances of a house fire are very small if you take the time to start fireproofing your home.
Fireproofing your home will also reduce a lot of damage if it were to happen. Regular checks on your electric equipment and appliances aren’t that hard to do. Once you get a hang of it, it’ll be a habit. When you rule out the main major causes of a fire, you are one step ahead in keeping your home safe.
