Winter fire safety

WINTER FIRE SAFETY

As a home inspector, I have the opportunity to look see structures of varying ages styles and designs. About once a month, I come across an older structure that has visible past fire damage and always wonder about the history and reason for the fire.

As the winter months settle in and the Holiday season begins, most of us spend more time entertaining family and friends. With that comes more time preparing and cooking wonderful meals to celebrate together.

I would like to pass along some interesting statistics and recommendations, from the US Fire Administration, to help make this a safe and fire free Holiday season.

Fires in one and 2 family dwellings account for 67% of all winter residential building fires.
Cooking is the leading cause of all winter residential building fires.
Residential building fires occur mainly in the evening hours, peaking from 5-8 PM.
Although highest in December, residential building fire incidence is collectively highest in the 3 winter months of January, February and March.

Cooking fire prevention tips:
Keep things such as oven mitts and hot pads away from the heat.
Keep kids away from cooking areas.
Prevent scalds and burns by keeping children away from walkways where hot food is carried.
Watch what you heat. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of kitchen fires.
Know what to do is there is a fire.

WHEN IN DOUBT, JUST GET OUT.

In addition, test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors monthly, create and discuss fire evacuation plans with all family members and be safe this winter.

Tags: Fire safety

This entry was posted on Monday, November 15th, 2010 at 1:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.