Fire Safety Most People Don't Think About

House fires are far more common than most people think. In 2005, 396,000 house fires were responded to by fire departments in the United States, and on average, someone died every 2 hours from a house fire. Those are high statistics. I'm a stickler for fire safety. When I was 6 years old, my house I lived in with my father and brother and sister caught on fire. My father had to jump from our second story bedroom window to the ground and catch the three of us as we jumped from the window sill. We lost everything. The cause of the fire could not be determined. Several years later, my father lost yet another house while he was away on vacation. Our beloved dog died in the fire, and my brother made it out with smoke inhalation injuries. The cause of that fire was determined to be faulty electrical wires near our house. Needless to say, I'm very paranoid about fires, and understandably so.

Christmas Eve of 2004, our dryer in the basement caught on fire. I was in the kitchen baking, and I heard a loud beeping noise. At first, I searched around the house looking for the source of the sound, but once I figured it was coming from the smoke alarm, I ran to the basement to see flames shooting out of our dryer. Fortunately, my husband was able to contain the fire with only a nearby pile of towels as a casualty. Dryer fires are a type of fire most homeowners do not consider. Not only should you clean the lint filter after every load of laundry dried, but you should check the ventilation systems to ensure there is no type of blockage. If the air is not escaping, this could be a potential fire hazard. Have you thought about checking behind the dryer for lint buildup? Checking not only behind the dryer, but inside the dryer, but inside the dryer for lint buildup is crucial. Most people believe the lint trap captures all the excessive lint, but this is not so! Excessive buildup can cause the dryer to overheat and potentially catch on fire. If your dryer is taking longer to dry the clothes, or if your clothes are coming out of the dryer really hot, it is necessary to check your dryer unit for maintenance.

Oven maintenance is important for prevention of fires as well. Most people don't think of the building up of food at the bottom of the oven, but when you cook, food runs off the pans and crusts at the bottom of the oven. Over time, this food continues to burn until one day, the bottom of the oven catches on fire. It could be a small fire, or it could be a big fire, but either way, it's a fire. Cleaning the bottom of the oven is highly recommended. This can be done in several ways: some ovens are made to be self-cleaning, where you turn it on for a period of time and the oven turns the food at the bottom of the oven into a pile of ashes, which is easily cleaned up. The more monotonous way to clean an oven is by using oven cleaner. Usually, the product is sprayed into the oven and left for a period of time (either several hours or overnight) and the cleaner breaks down the food in the oven, making it easier to wipe up.

Of course, it is necessary to upkeep smoke detectors in the home, by testing the batteries monthly to ensure there is no need to replace batteries. Also, at least one smoke alarm is needed on each floor of your home, depending on the square footage, two might be required.

3,000 people lose their lives annually to fires. Hopefully, these tips will help reduce the risk of fires in your home.