Fire Prevention Week is October 5 – October 12. This is a great opportunity to keep up with some standard maintenance on your home. Performing checks on smoke alarms, carbon dioxide detectors, sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers are simple tasks that can make a big difference on the safety of your family and your home.
Some helpful hints from our friends over at National Fire Protection Association are to:
Check all smoke alarms in your home and replace any old or non-working batteries. Also, make sure you have enough smoke alarms in your home. If you do not, it is time to make some purchases and installations of smoke detectors.- If you do not currently have carbon monoxide detectors in your home, Fire Prevention Week is a great time to add them. Many people forget about deaths as a result of breathing poor air due to some malfunction of equipment.
- Create and identify an escape route out of your home. Next, practice that route with all your family members during Fire Prevention Week. Get in as much practice as you need.
- If your home has a fire sprinkler system, make sure the sprinklers are not blocked by anything that might prevent them from working.
- Be careful of any portable heating units and make sure nothing that could cause a fire is near them. Additionally, make sure you turn them off if leaving your home.
- Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from any type of fireplace or stove.
- When cooking, make sure someone is present to put out any fires that may occur.
- Blow out all candles before leaving your home or going to bed. This also goes for all kinds of electrical units that heat oils in your home that requires electric heat. Unplug them and turn them off.
- To make sure your electrical system is working properly, follow the guidelines listed here.
Other Tips
Additionally, check the expiration date on your fire extinguishers. Keep flammable materials away from stoves. Check your outdoor grills to make sure they are far enough away from your home, and that they are cleaned and any gas lines are hooked up properly. Fire Prevention Week is a great time to take the necessary precautions that we often forget about and adding these tasks to a home maintenance calendar will help you remember when to perform these tasks year after year.
By following these simple tips, you can create additional safety plans for you and your family.
Visit HomeZada to add these safety tips to your home calendar as monthly and annual activities.
