|
|
FIRE PREVENTION
ALL OVER
YOUR HOME
Most
fatal
fires are home fires. You can protect your household and your property
by following these fire-safe practices.
Smoke Detectors
Install smoke detectors on every level of your home and especially
outside every sleeping area if you sleep with the door closed, install
one inside your sleeping area as well.
· Test smoke detectors monthly, following manufacturer's instructions.
· Install new batteries at least once a year or when your detector
"chirps" to warn you that battery power is low.
· Install smoke detectors away from cooking vapors to prevent nuisance
alarms, and clean your detectors regularly, following manufacturer's
instructions.
· Replace any smoke detector that is more than 10 years old.
For complete home
protection, consider installing an automatic fire-sprinkler system.
Escape Plans
Plan and practice your escape. Every member of the household should
know at least two exits from each room. Make sure that doors and windows
needed for escape are unobstructed and easy to open. If an exit route
involves an upper story window, make sure there is a safe way to reach
the ground. Decide on a meeting place outside the home where every member
of the household can gather once they've escaped. Know the phone number
of the fire department, and arrange to use a neighbor's phone in the
event of a fire.
Living and Family Rooms
Remove fire hazards, and practice fire-safe behavior to prevent
home fires.
Use extreme caution
with cigarettes, matches, and lighters. Provide large, deep, non-tip
ashtrays for smokers. Before you go to bed or leave your home after
people have been smoking, check for smoldering butts under and behind
furniture cushions. Use only child-resistant lighters, and keep matches
and lighters up high, out of the sight and reach of children - preferably
in a locked cabinet.
Keep space heaters
and wood stoves at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from anything that can
burn. Always turn space heaters off when you go to bed or leave the
home. Never leave children alone near a working fireplace, wood stove,
or space heater. Refuel kerosene heaters, with kerosene only, outside
and after the heater has cooled.
Use a metal fire
screen on your fireplace. Have your chimney inspected by a professional
once a year, and have it cleaned if creosote has built up in the flue.
Use only dry, seasoned wood in wood stoves and fireplaces. Add wood
to fireplaces carefully; sparks can fly into the room while the screen
is open.
Kitchen
Stove embers and ovens can burn you and start fires. Be attentive
and remember these:
· Always stay with the stove when cooking.
· Keep
your stove-top and oven clean and clear.
· Wear
tight-fitting or rolled-up sleeves when cooking to avoid catching your
clothing on fire.
· Keep combustible materials away from the stove. Don't hang curtains,
pot holders, or towels near burners or the oven.
· Turn pot handles inward so they can't be bumped or pulled.
· Enforce a "kid-free zone" 3 feet (1 meter) around all cooking
equipment.
· If a small fire starts in a pan, carefully slide a lid over the
pan to smother the flames, and turn off the burner. Leave the lid in
place until the pan is cool.
· Never pour water on a grease fire.
· In microwave ovens, use only those containers designed for microwave
use.
|
Workshops, Storage Areas,
and Outdoors
You
may have flammable materials in your basement or garage. Exercise
fire safety inside and out.
· If you
store gasoline, keep only small quantities outside your home in a
shed or detached garage. Keep gasoline in sealed, approved containers
designed to store it. Use gasoline only as a motor fuel, never as
a cleaning agent.
· Before starting your lawnmower, snow-blower, or motorcycle,
move it away from gasoline fumes. Let small motors cool before you
refuel them.
· Always store paint and other flammable liquids in their original,
labeled containers with tight-fitting lids. Use and store all flammable
liquids far away from appliances, heaters, pilot lights, and other
heat sources.
· If
a fuse or circuit breaker blows, never replace it with one that exceeds
the amperage rating of the circuit, and never replace a fuse with
a penny or other conductive material.
· Remove trash from your home. Don't store anything near a furnace
or water heater.
· Use
outdoor cooking grills with caution. Never use gasoline to start or
enhance the fire, and don't add charcoal lighter fluid once the fire
has started - even to glowing coals. You can use dry kindling to revive
the flame. Use cooking grills outside only, and well away from the
building, vegetation, and other combustibles. Make sure children are
supervised while you are using the grill.
People Protecting
People Since 1896
© National
Fire Protection Association
Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101
|
Return to main page
Can
we find you in an emergency?