Most Common Causes for House Fires

House fires are a tragedy that can cost lives, injuries, and homes. Take precautions to avoid your house from a devastating fire. Knowing the dangers of flammable materials and fire hazards may help you to prevent catastrophe.

Aside from knowing what causes house fires, checking things like your smoke detectors, heating sources, and electrical wiring regularly to ensure that they are functioning properly is also helpful to avoid potential threats.

Faulty Wiring

Older homes are especially at risk for dangerous, outdated, or faulty wiring. Electrical wiring is often an unseen danger, but there can be a few warning signs. If your lights dim when you use an appliance, your fuses blow frequently, or for an appliance to work, you have to disconnect another appliance you may have some unsafe wiring. When you suspect that there may be a problem, call a professional to get it inspected. Don’t risk the alternative of finding out another way.

Heating Equipment

Furnaces, portable heaters, and other heating equipment can present a threat to many homes. Similar to other hazardous things, it’s a good idea to keep anything flammable away from electrical equipment. Be sure you don’t leave any blankets, curtains, books, tissue boxes, clothing, etc., too close to a heating element. It may seem nice to curl up in a blanket next to your space heater, but anything flammable near a heating element can be dangerous. Better safe than sorry, keep your heating equipment at a safe distance.

Candles

An unattended candle may smell great but it can be a threat to any room. Keep candles away from anything flammable such as curtains, tissue boxes, or books. Though a candle does produce a small flame, it is still an open flame. Once something does catch fire, it can spread very quickly. Candles are okay to use but place them carefully, keep an eye on them, and do not leave them unattended.

Cooking Equipment

Kitchen fires are more common than you may think. Avoid them and the danger they present by not using appliances with frayed cords. It’s also dangerous to run electrical cords under rugs or other appliances. When you are cooking or baking, don’t leave anything heated unattended. This means that you should not leave anything on the stove or in the oven without supervision. Things can easily overheat and catch fire quickly.

Flammable Liquids

Be wary of any flammable liquids you may keep in your house or garage. These could include petrol, kerosene, alcohol, etc. Keep these liquids away from any and all heat sources. Store them in a safe space, ideally outside of the home in a cool area. Vapors can easily be ignited from high temperatures or just a few sparks.

Christmas Trees

Unfortunately, fresh pine trees covered in electric lights can be a danger to your home. Keeping your tree well-watered will be a big help. Dry trees are much more dangerous. You may also want to keep your tree away from heat sources like furnaces, fireplaces, candles, etc.

If you have any questions for us, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We are always happy to help!