20 Jan Tips to Prevent a House Fire
in Uncategorized by Gulfshore Home Watch and Concierge
A recent report by the National Fire Protection Association found that in the years 2014-2018, fire departments responded to approximately 353,000 home structure fires per year. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common causes of fires included cooking, electrical distribution, lighting equipment, heating equipment, and smoking materials.
Fires started by smoking materials, such as cigarettes and cigars, were the leading cause of home structure fires. The second most prominent cause of fires was heating equipment, such as including central heating installations, portable heaters, and space heaters. Fires started by lighting equipment, such as plugs, cords, extension cords and electrical wiring, ranked third.
Suffice to say, if you’re a part-time resident (or you’re a full-time resident who plans to travel for a few weeks), you’ll want to make sure your home is protected in your absence. Below are just a few of the things you can do to keep your household safe.
Maintain your yard
Have the shrubs or plants along the exterior back wall of your home started to die? If you’re unable to revive them, have them removed. Additionally, you’ll want to keep your trees, bushes and lawn maintained and trimmed.
Protect your roof by using fire resistant materials when you reroof your home
Is it time to reroof your home? If so, be sure to talk to your roofing contractor about the pros and cons of a tile roofing system. In addition to being resistant to foul weather (such gale force winds), tile roofing is also fire resistant.
Don’t use combustibles materials near the house
Lots of people enjoy cooking outdoors- but if you use your barbeque too close to your home, that could pose a danger. Don’t keep or use combustible materials, including barbeques and tiki torches, in close proximity to your home.
Consider a fire alarm that links to a mobile app
Did you know that there are “smart” smoke detectors that can send notifications to your cell phone? If your home starts to fill with smoke, you’ll be alerted
immediately. (You can also get a smart-device that doubles as a carbon monoxide detector.)
Hire a home watch service
If you’re going to be out of town for a while, you might want to consider hiring a home watch service. At Gulf Shore Home Watch & Concierge we have years of experience in helping our clients keep their homes safe. For more information about how we can help protect your home when you’re out of town, call us today to get started.
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