When cold weather hits, it drives people indoors in an effort to keep warm. Unfortunately, the risk of a house fire increases during the winter months.
This risk is compounded by the fact that rising fuel costs are causing homeowners to seek less expensive means of heating their homes, such as wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.
To safeguard your family and your home, follow these fire prevention guidelines.
Kitchen
The kitchen is the room in which a fire is most likely to start. It makes sense, considering it’s where cooking takes place. One of the easiest ways to prevent fires from starting in the kitchen is to keep a watchful eye on the oven and stove. Don’t leave cooking food unattended, even for a short while.
In addition, regularly inspect cooking appliances to make sure they are in good working order. Toasters or toaster ovens should be free of excessive crumbs and have a power cord that is intact – not frayed.
Make sure ovens are clean inside, and not full of drippings or grease. Keep items that could catch on fire, such as potholders or towels, away from the range top.
If a fire does occur, act fast. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. In the event of a grease fire, do not douse the flames with water – it will cause it to spread. Place a pot cover over the flames and turn off the burner. If the fire gets out of control, call 911 and escape to safety.
Additionally, never use an oven to heat your home. Not only is it a safety hazard, it can be a source of potentially toxic fumes.
Heating sources
The utility room or basement also houses equipment with fire-hazard potential. The furnace, with its lit pilot, can be dangerous if you aren’t careful.
Keep combustible material, like paint cans, gasoline or cleaning products, away from the furnace. Be sure all furnace controls and emergency shutoffs are in proper working condition.
Leave furnace repairs to qualified specialists. Also, check the flue pipes and pipe seams that exhaust heat from the furnace to the outdoors. Find out if they are well supported and free of holes and cracks. Soot along or around seams may indicate a leak.
Leaks from a furnace can be an added carbon monoxide hazard. A silent killer, carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that slowly suffocates you. Installing carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home, in addition to fire detectors, would be wise.
Wood stoves and fireplaces can provide a good deal of warmth, but open flames have the potential of spreading if proper safety precautions are not taken. Here are some wood-burning heating tips:
• Be sure the stove or fireplace is installed properly. Wood stoves should have adequate clearance from any combustible surfaces, and proper floor support and protection.
• Have the chimney inspected annually and cleaned if necessary, especially if it has not been used for some time.
• Do not use flammable liquids to start or accelerate a fire.
• Keep a glass or metal screen in front of the fireplace opening to prevent embers or sparks from jumping out, unwanted material from going in and help prevent the possibility of anyone getting accidently burned.
• The stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15 to 30 minutes to reduce the amount of creosote buildup. Creosote is a flammable byproduct of combustion that can build up within the chimney and then ignite, causing a chimney fire.
• Don’t use excessive amounts of paper to build roaring fires in fireplaces. It is possible to ignite creosote by overbuilding the fire.
• Keep flammable materials away from your mantel. A spark from the fireplace could easily ignite them.
• Before you go to sleep, be sure your fireplace fire is out. Never close your damper with hot ashes in the fireplace. A closed damper will help the fire to heat up again, and will force toxic carbon monoxide into the house.
Candles
Candles can provide light, and ambiance and a subtle scent for the rooms in your home, but, they can also be potentially dangerous. Never leave candles lit while you are not home, or leave them burning through the night as you sleep.
Keep candles away from curtains, tablecloths or other loose fabrics that can be engulfed in flames. Also, don’t place candles where they can be knocked over by you or a pet.
Rely on candleholders so that hot wax will not spill and damage your furnishings. And always double-check that candles, and the matches used to light them, are fully extinguished before leaving the house or retiring for the night.
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