House fires are a terrifying, but very real possibility. The best way to prevent house fires is by identifying the biggest fire hazards in your home.
Keep reading to find out what you should keep an eye on, and some tips on how to prevent your home from going up in flames.
Bad Wiring
Electrical fires account for over 50,000 home fires a year and $1.5 billion dollars in property damage. Simple things like putting a nail in the wall to hang a picture can easily pierce a piece of wiring with disastrous results. To help prevent electrical fires, replace your circuit breakers with arc-fault circuit interrupters, which can be found in most hardware stores. These circuit interrupters can detect irregularities in insulation and wiring connections and stop them before a fire starts.
Kitchen Clutter
A whopping 41 percent of house fires begin in the kitchen. A portion of these fires occur when combustible products like paper towels, food packaging, cookbooks, and recipe cards get too close to active stove burners. To help prevent fires in the kitchen never leave any cooking unattended, and keep a three-foot radius between combustible materials and your stove’s burners.
Old Appliances
Although that vintage toaster you found may look pretty cool, it could be well past its time in terms of safety. Older appliances were made according to outdated safety codes, and may also contain frayed wires. Look for modern electronics that have the UL label, signifying they have been deemed safe by Underwriters Laboratories, and If you’re not willing to let your vintage find go, consider having it professionally rewired.
Loose Outlets
We’ve all been there: you try to plug a cord in, and it slides back out. This is because you’re dealing with an outlet where the blades inside have loosened. It’s not only annoying but also dangerous as loose outlets can generate a lot of heat that could result in a fire. To prevent an outlet fire, replace loose outlets as soon as you spot them.
Your Dryer
Clothes dryers are one of the biggest fire hazards. According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly 17,000 dryer fires are reported each year, causing 51 deaths, 380 injuries, and $236 million in property loss. Regularly cleaning out your lint filter isn’t a surefire way to prevent dryer fires either, because 34% of these fires are caused by the failure to clean dryer vents. The best way to prevent dryer blazes is to have your dryer professionally cleaned every two years.
Contact Black Diamond Restoration Today
Now that you’re aware of the biggest fire hazards in your home, hopefully, you can prevent any future house fires. However, if the unexpected happens, contact the experts at Black Diamond Restoration. We have decades of experience in fire restoration, and with our fast and responsive service, we can have your home or business looking like new in no time. We are based out of Murray, Utah, and we serve Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas.
