Protecting your home from wildfires is probably not as difficult as you might think it would be, as long as you have the time and money to put into it. There are a lot of different ways to help protect your home and if you can do all of them, you just might end up saving your house.
The condition of the lawn and other vegetation around the outside of your house is usually the first line of defense, so make sure this is taken care of first. Your lawn should stay mowed and not allowed to become overgrown or dry and grass cuttings need to be raked far away from the house, but preferably taken away from the property. Trees near the home should be cut down.
Fire-resistant materials should be used in new constructions and if possible, the exterior materials of older homes should be replaced. Old homes often have vinyl or wooden siding on them and this is not fire-resistant at all, especially not compared to brick, stone, or metal. The last three materials will protect your home a lot more and you should have these installed if you are in an area that is prone to wildfires. You will thank yourself later.
The roof is perhaps the most important exterior surface of your home, since it has the largest amount of surface area. The wind carries sparks of fire on it when there are wildfires nearby and when these land on your roof, it can catch it on fire. To do away with the majority of this risk, you should have fire-resistant roofing material installed. Asphalt shingles are oil-based and will catch on fire fairly easily and so will wooden shingles. A metal roof can help solve this problem, among a few other materials available on the market today.
When a wildfire is nearby, you would also do well to keep your roof and lawn wet to discourage firebrands floating on the wind to ignite. If you must evacuate your home, you should wet the lawn down as much as possible to slow the fire from getting close to your home.
Small windows in your home instead of large ones can help, since they will radiate a lot less heat inside the house and be less likely to catch drapes and other things near the window on fire.
Showing posts with label house fire sources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house fire sources. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
House Fire Sources
Fires can start in the house a number of different ways and knowing as much as you can about fire safety in the home is important in preventing this from happening.
Cooking in the kitchen poses the most amount of risk, but since most people have to do this to survive because they cannot afford to eat out all the time, it must be done. Safety comes first and this means that you should not leave anything on the stove unattended in the kitchen. If you do have to leave, turn it off or leave someone in the kitchen to watch it for you.
Space heaters that you using during the winter time can also present a substantial amount of risk if you do not know where you can safely place them in your home. They should never be put near furniture, curtains, or any other fabric item. Something else you need to know is that extension cords should never be used with appliances that use a lot of electricity or put out a large amount of heat. Electric skillets and deep fryers fall into this category along with space heaters and if you use a normal household extension cord with them, they will melt. If you have to use one, use a heavy duty one that is normally used outside.
If you smoke, this is another possible source of fire in the house. If you have to dump out cigarette ashes, make sure everything in the tray is completely put out. Something you should never do is smoke while you are in bed. Do not let yourself become too relaxed in a chair, either, since you may end up falling asleep and dropping the cigarette, either on the chair, bed, the floor, or yourself.
Chemicals that are flammable like gas and turpentine should be kept outside the house, preferably in a separate building. This way, if they catch on fire for some reason, the extra building will be on fire and not your home.
Electric blankets are also a great convenience, but the bad thing about these is that people tend to leave them on all night while they are sleeping instead of just using them to heat up the bed. Beds catch on fire due to improper use of these, so never leave the house while they are on and never leave them on while you are asleep.
Cooking in the kitchen poses the most amount of risk, but since most people have to do this to survive because they cannot afford to eat out all the time, it must be done. Safety comes first and this means that you should not leave anything on the stove unattended in the kitchen. If you do have to leave, turn it off or leave someone in the kitchen to watch it for you.
Space heaters that you using during the winter time can also present a substantial amount of risk if you do not know where you can safely place them in your home. They should never be put near furniture, curtains, or any other fabric item. Something else you need to know is that extension cords should never be used with appliances that use a lot of electricity or put out a large amount of heat. Electric skillets and deep fryers fall into this category along with space heaters and if you use a normal household extension cord with them, they will melt. If you have to use one, use a heavy duty one that is normally used outside.
If you smoke, this is another possible source of fire in the house. If you have to dump out cigarette ashes, make sure everything in the tray is completely put out. Something you should never do is smoke while you are in bed. Do not let yourself become too relaxed in a chair, either, since you may end up falling asleep and dropping the cigarette, either on the chair, bed, the floor, or yourself.
Chemicals that are flammable like gas and turpentine should be kept outside the house, preferably in a separate building. This way, if they catch on fire for some reason, the extra building will be on fire and not your home.
Electric blankets are also a great convenience, but the bad thing about these is that people tend to leave them on all night while they are sleeping instead of just using them to heat up the bed. Beds catch on fire due to improper use of these, so never leave the house while they are on and never leave them on while you are asleep.
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