Fire Safety Prevention Tips

11/8/2023 (Permalink)

Ensuring fire safety is important for the well-being of your family and the protection of your property. Fire accidents can occur unexpectedly, but many of them are preventable with the right precautions and awareness.

By implementing effective fire safety measures, you significantly reduce the risk of fire-related disasters in your home and property.

This blog presents essential fire prevention tips to help you create a secure living environment. From basic household practices to specific strategies like installing smoke alarms and having a fire escape plan, these tips are designed to empower you with the knowledge needed to minimize fire hazards.

Check Your Smoke Alarms

Regularly checking alarms is crucial for fire safety as these devices serve as the first line of defense against fire damage and potential disasters. These alarms are designed to detect the earliest signs of fire, allowing you and your family precious seconds to evacuate safely.

However, like any electronic device, they can malfunction, lose power, or have dead batteries, rendering them useless when needed the most. Conducting routine checks ensures that these alarms are operational, providing you with the early warning needed to escape a fire situation.

It's important that you check the smoke alarms on every flood of your home to ensure that they are all working properly

Watch Your Space Heaters

Maintaining adequate space around space heaters is paramount for fire safety. These portable devices, while effective at providing warmth, generate intense heat that can ignite nearby objects if placed too close.

Allowing ample space around space heaters ensures proper airflow, preventing the buildup of heat and reducing the risk of overheating.

Combustible materials like curtains, bedding, or furniture should be kept at a safe distance from the heater to avoid the possibility of a fire. It's also important to note that placing heaters on stable, flat surfaces reduces the likelihood of it accidentally tipping, which could also lead to a fire.

Plan Your Escape

Planning an escape route is paramount in fire safety as it ensures that everyone in your household knows exactly what to do in the event of a fire emergency.

Fires can spread rapidly, leaving little time to think or react. Having a well-thought-out escape plan, including multiple routes if possible, helps families exit the home swiftly and safely.

It's crucial to identify primary and alternative escape routes from different rooms in the house, especially bedrooms. Designate a meeting point outside, a safe distance from the home, where everyone can gather after evacuating.

It's also important that you include pet rescue in your escape plan, if possible. If you or other family members are able to grab the dogs/cats, etc., you're not only saving your own life, but your fluffy loved ones as well.

Watch Burning Candles

Leaving burning candles unattended poses a significant fire hazard and should be strictly avoided. Candles, while providing a warm and ambient atmosphere, are an open flame source, making them capable of igniting surrounding objects if left unsupervised.

Accidents such as a gust of wind, a pet's tail, or a flammable item accidentally getting too close can quickly turn a peaceful setting into a dangerous fire cleanup situation.

Watch While You Cook

Watching what you're cooking is important for fire safety reasons. Cooking-related fires are a leading cause of home fires, often resulting from unattended stovetops or ovens.

Even a momentary distraction can lead to a dangerous situation. A plan left on the stove too long, grease reaching its smoking point, or flammable materials too close to the burners can quickly ignite.

Fire Damage Emergency Tips

After any fire damage situation, your primary focus should be safety first:

• Is it safe to stay in the house?
• Is everyone safely out of the house?
• Careful around the perimeter of the house as you are exiting.
• Do not try to take items with you.
• Only partake in activities that are safe and low risk.
• Do not try to lift wet materials.
• Try breathing techniques to remain calm.

We understand that fires leave individuals feeling lost, helpless, and devastated. We want you to know that these are the range of human emotion and it is ok for you to feel this way. We are here to help get your life back.

What To Do After A Fire:

• Limit movement in the home to prevent soot particles from being embedded into upholstery and carpets.
• Keep hands clean to not further soil upholstery, walls, and woodwork.
• Place clean towels or old linens on rugs, upholstery, and carpet traffic areas.
• If electricity is off, empty freezer and refrigerator and prop doors open.
• Clean and protect chrome with a light coating of petroleum jelly or oil.
• Wash houseplants on both sides of leaves.
• Change the HVAC filter.
• Tape double layers of cheesecloth over air registers.

What Not To Do After A Fire:

• Don't attempt to wash any walls or painted surfaces or shampoo carpet/upholstery without contacting us.
• Don't attempt to clean any electrical appliances that may have been close to the fire, heat, or water without consulting an authorized repair service.
• Don't use any canned or packaged goods or beverages that may have been stored near the fire, heat, or water.
• Don't turn on ceiling fixtures if the ceiling is wet. The wiring may be damaged.
• Don't send garments to an ordinary dry cleaner. Improper cleaning may set smoke odors.

Why SERVPRO?

Fire and smoke inflict significant destruction, often accompanied by water damage due to firefighting efforts, impacting your Manhattan property. Our expertise lies in fire and water damage restoration, forming the core of our full restoration services.

Equipped with specialized tools, rigorous training, and certifications, we can restore your home to its preloss condition.

Recognizing the confusion, stress, and vulnerability you might be experiencing, our technicians approach your situation with empathy and handle your home with utmost care.

We have a specific fire restoration process that includes restoring your home, construction, smoke damage cleanup, debris removal, soot removal, odor removal, and even tarp services for your roof if necessary.

If your home deal with a structure fire of any size, whether it be a small fire or a large one, we can help. We have the tools and the technicians that are skilled and ready to help when you need it the most.

About SERVPRO Team Harvey

SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan is proudly owned by Lance and Jennifer Harvey - a husband and wife duo that owns three other SERVPRO locations, including SERVPRO of Aberdeen/Holmdel, SERVPRO of West Somerset County, and SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City.

We understand the stress and worry that comes with a fire or water damage and the disruption it causes your home or business. Our goal is to help minimize the interruption to your life and quickly make it “like it never even happened.”