The New Year is almost upon us and this is the time when many of us resolve to make improvements in our lives. Most often, those improvements are focused on our health, which is definitely great, but we hope you will also consider focusing on fire safety in the home with these tips:
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working! The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has found that three out of five home fire deaths are a result from fires in properties that did not have working smoke alarms. If you need some guidance on how to test your smoke alarms, check out this blog. Remember to test your smoke alarms once a month!
- Smoke alarms have a shelf-life. Check the date on your smoke alarms – they need to be replaced every 10 years!
- Never remove the battery in your smoke alarm (without immediately replacing it). Disabling a smoke alarm or removing the battery can be a fatal mistake.
- Cooking is one of the main causes of home fires year after year. Never leave cooking food unattended, turn the handles of pots and pans on stoves inward to avoid accidents, and be sure to make sure your sleeves (or other loose fitting clothing) are out of the way while cooking.
- Don’t use appliances with frayed cords or with outdated wiring.
- Don’t place space heaters too close (within three feet of) curtains, clothing, rugs, furniture, and other combustible surfaces. Also, don’t leave space heaters running unattended – consider using heaters with automatic shut-offs.
- It’s important to make sure everyone in the home knows what to do in case of a fire. Make a fire escape plan with your family and practice that plan at least twice a year. Remember to teach your kids basic fire safety tips, like staying as low to the ground as possible, touching a door to see if it’s hot before grabbing the doorknob, and knowing at least two ways out of every room in case of an emergency.
We hope that you find these tips helpful and that you will incorporate them in your 2017 resolutions. From all of us at Harrington Group, we wish you and yours a safe and Happy New Year!