Most residential fires in the U.S. are caused by cooking, heating or electrical malfunctions, or because of carelessness and other unintended causes. Often, these causes cannot be avoided, but what can be avoided are the minutes that tick by between the time a fire first begins and when the homeowners are finally alerted to it.
The more you can shorten this time, the better. And this means having the proper safety equipment set up in your home. Of course, once you’re alerted of a fire, you also need to know what to do to put it out. Below, we’ll outline the top three home safety devices you’ll need to protect your home and family from fire.
Smoke Alarms for All Bedrooms and Floor Levels
Every house should have smoke alarms in the following locations:
- One alarm in every bedroom, or immediately outside of every sleeping area
- One alarm in the basement
- One alarm in the laundry
- At least one alarm on every building level
Smoke alarms come in two main types. The first type is the best type: Connected/wired smoke alarms. These alarms connect to each other and to your home’s energy system, not relying on batteries for power like the other type of smoke alarm: Standalone alarms.
Make sure you test your smoke alarm batteries at least once a month. Check your smoke alarm batteries and swap them out at least once a year. Change your smoke alarms entirely every ten years.
Recall Alert: As a side note, the Kidde Dual-Sensor smoke alarm models PI2010 and PI9010 were recently recalled, so check your alarms in your home to ensure you don’t own these faulty products.
At Least One Fire Extinguisher
All homes need a fire extinguisher in addition to smoke alarms. Depending on what types of fires need to be put out, various types of fire extinguishers are available. You can read about the different types of fire extinguishers produced to find one that suits your needs.
The best place for your fire extinguisher is in your kitchen as this is where the largest percentage of home fires occur. Make sure you know how to use a fire extinguisher. It’s more difficult than it looks, so recalling the keyword PASS may help. PASS stands for the actions you must take to properly operate a fire extinguisher and extinguish a flame. Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. Find more operational details here.
Recall Alert: A few Kidde fire extinguisher models were recalled, so check your own extinguisher today to be sure you don’t own a faulty model.
At Least One CO Alarm
CO stands for carbon monoxide. Products and appliances in the home can produce carbon monoxide, but it is a poisonous gas that can lead to death if not detected soon enough.
That’s why having at least one CO alarm in the house is crucial. It is recommended that you install the alarm near where you sleep so that you can be woken up easily if the alarm goes off at night. Also, remember to change the batteries on your CO alarm twice per year to keep it in proper working order. As a suggestion, think of changing your CO alarm batteries whenever you change your clocks for the spring and fall time changes.
To learn more about the signs of CO poisoning from the CDC, go here.
Protect Your Home with Homeowners Insurance
Of course, even after taking these safety measures in your home, fires can still occur and cause serious damage. This makes a quality homeowners insurance policy the absolute best form of protection for your home.
At Krog Insurance, our friendly and experienced agents work hard to provide our customers with insurance plans that fully meet their needs. To learn more about our available policies and request a quote, please contact us today.
