Home is where we find comfort, create memories, and build our lives. However, this sanctuary isn’t perfectly safe from potential dangers, and house fires stand as one of the most devastating threats. We normally don’t give them too much thought, but the fact remains – pretty much every single thing we do in a day is a potential risk. With almost 400 thousand house fires a year in the US alone, this is no joking matter. They’re unpredictable, difficult to control, and spread in a blink of an eye.
Common Causes of House Fires
There are three main things that are normally considered the most common causes of house fires – cooking, heating equipment and wiring. While we could certainly differentiate other categories and subcategories here, this is the gist. Specifics, of course, may differ, but overall, house fires come down to these three, for the most part. It’s still crucial to identify them since that’s going to determine what types of fire extinguisher you need to have at home to best protect it.
Kitchen Mishaps
Let’s start with the most common incidents – the ones that happen in the kitchen. Naturally, they have something to do with cooking, more often than not. It’s important to remember we should never leave the room when something’s on the stove. As paranoid as it may sound, that’s just a recipe for disaster. At the very least, use a timer to make sure you don’t forget something’s cooking. This simple habit alone is enough to minimize the risk.
Heating
Although less popular nowadays, a lot of us still use space heaters during wintertime – for obvious reasons. There’s actually nothing wrong with that, provided we follow some simple rules and use common sense. It’s a heat source and as such, it’s always a fire hazard. Make sure you keep it away from anything that could potentially catch fire or start burning – mostly curtains, blankets, covers, clothes or furniture. If you’re using a furnace or a stove, remember to have it checked regularly and get some carbon monoxide alarm to be forewarned about any potential leaks.
Wiring
Faulty wiring has been a downfall to plenty of buildings. No wonder – it’s not something we think about every day. There are, however, some telltale signs that can literally save us from tragedy. Frequently blown fuses, lights dimming when using another device… All that could indicate there’s something wrong and we should schedule an appointment with a qualified electrician as soon as possible. Other common fire causes are sudden power surges and arc faults.
Top Priority
Fire safety should be very high on the list of our home-related concerns -there’s no other way around it. We’ve got everything to lose here and stand to gain very little. That’s why we need to make sure we’ve got the right – and more importantly – properly working equipment and tools. Fire extinguisher service is a must. And so is regular inspection of smoke detectors. These little things can make a world of difference.Â
