Imagine a situation where you have spent many years working and saving to buy your dream home. You might even have spent two decades paying for your mortgage and are finally done with it.
Unfortunately, your investment burns down in a fire. Even though you might get insurance compensating for your loss, things can be stressful for you. You might not even be able to replace everything lost in the fire.
So, what can you do to prevent yourself from getting into that situation? Here are some DIY tips and tricks to immediately increase the fire safety of your home.
Check Your Smoke Alarms Regularly
Did you know that the only difference between your home burning down and catching fires early or thwarting them can be smoke alarms or a lack of them? Well, you need to make sure that your smoke alarms work.
Even though one of the main causes of home fires is cooking, you should ensure that you have installed smoke alarms everywhere in your house. This includes the outside and the inside of your home and every room.
In addition to installing smoke alarms, you should also ensure the alarms work well. You can do this by regularly checking the smoke alarms. If you are moving to a different home, check all the installed smoke alarms to ensure that they work well. You can get some of the best smoke alarms and other fire equipment for your home at Allied Fire & Safety.
Create an Escape Plan at Home
Do you know how many minutes it can take a home fire to spread through your entire house? A home can be engulfed within a matter of just minutes. This is not enough time for you to collect whatever you want and get everyone outside.
So, how can you increase the fire safety of your home to counter the speed with which fires spread? Well, you can create an escape plan in your home. This is one of the things to remember when buying a home. It means that every room has an escape plan. The plans should also be mapped well.
In addition, ensure that every family member knows about all the escape plans in your home. You should also include a meeting spot somewhere outside your house. This is where you can all meet in case of a fire. You can practice with your family at least once every month.
Train Yourself How to Use Fire Extinguishers
Before getting and training yourself on how to use fire extinguishers, you need to first understand the different types that you can get for your home. One of the best fire extinguishers you can get is the multi-purpose fire extinguisher.
This is because of how light it is for anyone, including young people in your family, to handle. In addition, it is large enough to get rid of small fires in your home. You need to learn how to use different types of fire extinguishers, no matter the one you choose for your home.
In case of small fires or fires that are confined to certain areas of your home, ensure that you have used a fire extinguisher as soon as you notice the fire. Ensure that you have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and on every floor of your home.
Be Careful When Using Candles
One of the biggest mistakes you need to be careful with is burning candles. They can burn your home within a matter of minutes. For you to increase the fire safety of your home, ensure that all candles are extinguished when going to bed or leaving a room.
In addition, you need to make sure that all candles are kept more than ten inches from all materials that might catch fire. This includes things such as furniture, blankets, and curtains, among others.
You can also use candle holders to ensure that your candles are sturdy all the time. This is important in preventing the candles from tipping over. Avoid leaving children alone in a room where you have lit candles. All these measures will increase the fire safety of your home.
Bottom Line
According to Statista, there were more than 335,000 home structure fires in the United States in 2021. This shows that home fires are still a major concern and homeowners need to do everything that they can to increase the fire safety of their homes. The DIY tips and tricks discussed above can help you with that.