FIRE PREVENTION ALL OVER
YOUR HOME
Most fatal fires are home fires. You can
protect your household and your property by following these fire-safe practices. fatal fires are home fires. You can
protect your household and your property by following these fire-safe practices.
Smoke Detectors
Install smoke detectors on every level of your home and especially outside every
sleeping area if you sleep with the door closed, install one inside your sleeping area as
well.
· Test smoke detectors monthly, following manufacturer's instructions.
· Install new batteries at least once a year or when your detector "chirps" to
warn you that battery power is low.
· Install smoke detectors away from cooking vapors to prevent nuisance alarms, and clean
your detectors regularly, following manufacturer's instructions.
· Replace any smoke detector that is more than 10 years old.
Install smoke detectors on every level of your home and especially outside every
sleeping area if you sleep with the door closed, install one inside your sleeping area as
well.
· Test smoke detectors monthly, following manufacturer's instructions.
· Install new batteries at least once a year or when your detector "chirps" to
warn you that battery power is low.
· Install smoke detectors away from cooking vapors to prevent nuisance alarms, and clean
your detectors regularly, following manufacturer's instructions.
· Replace any smoke detector that is more than 10 years old.
For complete home protection,
consider installing an automatic fire-sprinkler system.
Escape Plans
Plan and practice your escape. Every member of the household should know at least two
exits from each room. Make sure that doors and windows needed for escape are unobstructed
and easy to open. If an exit route involves an upper story window, make sure there is a
safe way to reach the ground. Decide on a meeting place outside the home where every
member of the household can gather once they've escaped. Know the phone number of the fire
department, and arrange to use a neighbor's phone in the event of a fire.
Plan and practice your escape. Every member of the household should know at least two
exits from each room. Make sure that doors and windows needed for escape are unobstructed
and easy to open. If an exit route involves an upper story window, make sure there is a
safe way to reach the ground. Decide on a meeting place outside the home where every
member of the household can gather once they've escaped. Know the phone number of the fire
department, and arrange to use a neighbor's phone in the event of a fire.
Living and Family Rooms
Remove fire hazards, and practice fire-safe behavior to prevent home fires.
Remove fire hazards, and practice fire-safe behavior to prevent home fires.
Use extreme caution with
cigarettes, matches, and lighters. Provide large, deep, non-tip ashtrays for smokers.
Before you go to bed or leave your home after people have been smoking, check for
smoldering butts under and behind furniture cushions. Use only child-resistant lighters,
and keep matches and lighters up high, out of the sight and reach of children - preferably
in a locked cabinet.
Keep space heaters and wood stoves
at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from anything that can burn. Always turn space heaters off
when you go to bed or leave the home. Never leave children alone near a working fireplace,
wood stove, or space heater. Refuel kerosene heaters, with kerosene only, outside and
after the heater has cooled.
Use a metal fire screen on your
fireplace. Have your chimney inspected by a professional once a year, and have it cleaned
if creosote has built up in the flue. Use only dry, seasoned wood in wood stoves and
fireplaces. Add wood to fireplaces carefully; sparks can fly into the room while the
screen is open.
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Kitchen
Stove
embers and ovens can burn you and start fires. Be attentive and remember
these:
· Always stay with the stove when cooking.
· Keep your
stove-top and oven clean and clear.
· Wear
tight-fitting or rolled-up sleeves when cooking to avoid catching your
clothing on fire.
· Keep combustible materials away from the stove. Don't hang curtains,
pot holders, or towels near burners or the oven.
· Turn pot handles inward so they can't be bumped or pulled.
· Enforce a "kid-free zone" 3 feet (1 meter) around all
cooking equipment.
· If a small fire starts in a pan, carefully slide a lid over the pan
to smother the flames, and turn off the burner. Leave the lid in place
until the pan is cool.
· Never pour water on a grease fire.
· In microwave ovens, use only those containers designed for microwave
use.
Workshops,
Storage Areas, and Outdoors
You may
have flammable materials in your basement or garage. Exercise fire
safety inside and out.
·
If you store gasoline, keep only small quantities outside your home in a
shed or detached garage. Keep gasoline in sealed, approved containers
designed to store it. Use gasoline only as a motor fuel, never as a
cleaning agent.
· Before starting your lawnmower, snow-blower, or motorcycle, move it
away from gasoline fumes. Let small motors cool before you refuel them.
· Always store paint and other flammable liquids in their original,
labeled containers with tight-fitting lids. Use and store all flammable
liquids far away from appliances, heaters, pilot lights, and other heat
sources.
· If
a fuse or circuit breaker blows, never replace it with one that exceeds
the amperage rating of the circuit, and never replace a fuse with a
penny or other conductive material.
· Remove trash from your home. Don't store anything near a furnace or
water heater.
· Use
outdoor cooking grills with caution. Never use gasoline to start or
enhance the fire, and don't add charcoal lighter fluid once the fire has
started - even to glowing coals. You can use dry kindling to revive the
flame. Use cooking grills outside only, and well away from the building,
vegetation, and other combustibles. Make sure children are supervised
while you are using the grill.
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