Fall is a good time of year to make sure your home is protected from the possibility of a fire. There are many safety precautions to be considered. While these tasks may seem like a bother to some people, you will be glad you did them if disaster strikes. After all, protecting your family and home is worth the extra effort.
If you do not already have fire prevention systems installed in your house, it would be wise to consult with a fire monitoring company immediately. Putting this issue off until a later date could be dangerous. Installing fire prevention systems as soon as possible will ensure that you, your family and your home are safe. If you fail to hire a fire monitoring company soon enough, it could result in a tragedy that is completely avoidable.
The tips listed below will help you and your family avoid a possible fire-related disaster this fall:
1. Home Heating
When the cold weather finally arrives, homeowners use various devices that are used by people to heat their homes. However, people often do not realize that problems could have developed in the heating device as it was sitting idle for many months. Therefore, it is critical that a thorough examination of your heating device be done before the cold weather arrives for good. Making sure your heating device is fully operational will help to prevent the device from causing a fire. It will also be less likely the device will break down in the dead of winter.
2. Changing Your Batteries
Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are essential for the safety of your home. Therefore, it is important that they always have strong batteries inside of them. Forgetting to change the batteries in these devices could literally mean the difference between life and death. A good way to remember when to replace the batteries is to simply do it during Daylight Savings Time. After you have finished replacing the batteries, this is an ideal time to test all of the fire extinguishers to make sure they are working properly.
3. Space Heaters
Space heaters are a very useful and convenient device to have on a cold winter night. They make it easy to heat a single room without the expense of heating an entire house. However, there are a number of very real dangers that go along with using a space heater. Here are some tips to keep yourself safe:
– When the space heater is turned on, avoid having any flammable items near it.
– Furniture and drapes should always remain at a safe distance when a space heater is in operation.
– Make sure that the space heater you use is equipped with a cut-off switch. This switch will immediately turn the heater off if it is knocked over or starts to overheat.
– Always keep the air intake clear on the heater. Blocking this intake will cause the device to overheat. You should create a perimeter of three feet around the space heater.
– Turn off the space heater if you go out of your home, even if you will only be gone for a short time.
– Placing clothes on a space heater to dry them is dangerous because they could ignite.
4. Fireplaces
Here are some fall safety tips if your home has a fireplace:
– Gasoline should never be used as an accelerant.
– Your chimney should be cleaned by a professional chimney sweep in the fall.
– A technician should examine the lines and connections if you happen to have a natural gas fireplace.
– Always have a person monitoring your fire.
– A screen should be used to keep sparks inside the fireplace.
– Your chimney should be inspected for safety each year.
Central Monitoring News 