Fire

When you say the word fire, there are different things that come to mind: a nice fire in the fireplace in the winter to keep you warm and cozy, or outside at a campsite cooking smores. Sometimes, it is fun to be a little uncomfortable and sit around the backyard firepit in coats staying warm when technically you could go back inside and be perfectly comfortable in your home.

The other way we think about fire is far more threatening. When we are no longer in control of fire, it is no longer a tool of warmth and comfort, it is a potential disaster.  We are taught from an early age to know where there is smoke, there is fire.

The forest fires we have in this country are becoming larger and more frequent. If they are not promptly contained and reach dense population centers, the financial impacts can be astronomical, and the damage and destruction are borderline unfathomable.  But what about our houses?  

Each year there are an estimated 358,000 house fires. Kitchen fires are the leading cause of fires in a home followed by heating equipment and electrical issues.   What is the peak day for house fires?   Thanksgiving. Talk about an incredibly inconvenient and terrible time for a fire!  Speaking of holiday fires, we must mention Christmas with all the cooking and faulty or damaged Christmas lights strung along combustibles.  Also, there is July 4th.  and all those wonderful pyrotechnics that get fired off at one of the driest times of the year.

We tolerate the risks of fire because the benefits are just too great. While we must tolerate the risks, we should also do all we can to mitigate them. Let us focus on two key areas, one involving prevention and the other involving proper alerting systems in your home should you have an unintended or unmanaged fire.

First, get a fire extinguisher for your home.  While this is not something you would use in a fire that is out of control, this is something that can easily be used to snuff out that cooking fire in the kitchen. There is no substitute for catching a fire early and extinguishing it before it is too large to contain.

Second, put in smoke detectors that are wired together so that all of them go off regardless of the location of the fire. One on each level and one in each bedroom is safest. Keep the batteries replaced and do not depend on them if they are more than 10 years old. Now would be a wonderful time to go and test your smoke detectors. Make sure you confirm they are properly linked by holding the test button in until all go off simultaneously. If they are not, consider new interconnected smoke detectors; they even have wireless units now.

We had a client that had a home where he had smoke alarms.  On the one outside the master bedroom, he had installed a pull chain, that way he could simply tug it off before he went to bed so it would not bother him.   HMMMM

Thirdly, do you have an evacuation plan? Does it include an egress plan for each floor and room? Do the kids know it?  If not, there is no better time to make one and review it with all occupants.  

What measure can you take to fireproof your house the best you can?  

Enjoy the benefits of fire, manage the risks, and have a plan just in case.