Fire prevention is critical prior to heating season beginning

Fire prevention is a critical item to review prior to the start of winter and home heating season. The months of November through April produce the largest amounts of home fires. There are some items every property owner should address at a minimum of twice per year to help prevent a disaster.

Fire safety and prevention is something every home owner, business owner and landlord should regularly review.  The first objective for home and property is to create a comprehensive safety plan to help ensure you have all of your bases covered in the event of an emergency. There are a number of areas in your home that can provide a potential danger to you and your loved ones, and often some simple planning and routine maintenance can be the difference between disaster and prevention.

• The most critical is to verify you have the proper number of working smoke detectors on each floor of your property.
• Furnaces and boilers should be inspected by a professional at least once per year
• Hire a professional to inspect your chimney a minimum of every two years
• Space heaters should be placed in the middle of rooms away from curtains and papers
• Don’t leave candles burning in rooms that are unattended or when you leave your home
• Never smoke in bed
• Keep flammable liquids such as propane and gasoline in a garage or shed, off of the ground
• Have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen and on every level of your home
• Set an emergency fire evacuation plan in place with your business and review this regularly with your staff, including posting a map in every room guiding people to the nearest exits.
• If you are grilling, make certain your grill is outdoors and not in a garage
• Never use a hot oil grill on a wooden deck
• Do not place flammable materials around a fireplace, including kindling, blankets, matches, etc
• Keep flammable liquids such as propane and gasoline in a garage or shed, off of the ground
• Remember to practice fire safety and review the stop, drop and roll technique with children. Reinforce the top safety items if your or your loved ones are caught in a fire, including learning to crawl to the nearest exit to avoid inhaling smoke.

A comprehensive fire safety plan can help to turn bad situations into manageable emergencies. Planning and practice will go a long way towards helping to prevent fires and ensure your family and employees are  prepared if there is an emergency.