Home Fire Safety

Home fire safety, also known as fire prevention, is a topic that should get a lot of attention – no matter the time of year. It seems as if every morning the local news is detailing another house or apartment fire.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,389,500 fires in 2011. These fires resulted in 3,005 civilian fire fatalities, 17,500 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $11,659,000,000 in direct property loss.

A few “no-brainer” fire prevention tips are:

·         Don’t leave a stove unattended

·         Make certain your smoke detectors are in good working order

·         Don’t smoke in bed

·         Make certain that electrical appliances and cords are in good working order

·         Have an escape plan (in our house, we have a two-story fire escape ladder)

But I think the biggest tip is … vigilance. One misstep can lead to a disaster.

Many years ago, I was apartment sitting. The first time I entered the apartment, I noted an acrid smell. My friends had left a light on and their cat knocked the lamp onto a knit blanket. I arrived when the blanket was just beginning to smolder.

Whew! Close call!

A couple weeks ago my wife and I were visiting friends for an overnight. They set us up in their guest bedroom. We needed pillows so our friends informed us that there were a bunch in the bedroom closet. I reached for the topmost one but it wouldn’t budge. How does a pillow get stuck in a closet, I wondered.

Apparently, fairly easy … if the light is left on and the pillow rests against the light for any length of time. I have no idea how long that pillow had been in that position, but the pillow completely enveloped the bulb that burned through it.

I shudder to think about the “what ifs.”

• What if our friends had gone out and the light was left on?
• Would they have a place to come home to?
• What if the light had been left on overnight? That scenario is even scarier.

Thankfully, none of us became part of a statistic. I implore everyone to do an assessment to determine potential fire hazards in your living spaces. The benefits far outweigh the time taken.

Do you have a fire story to share? What do you do to prevent fires in your home?