Whether you’ve just moved into a new house, or you’ve been in your home for a while, you should always be on top of your fire safety checks. Performing a few simple checks and taking the right precautions could save your life, and it’ll help you sleep soundly at night. So follow these simple fire safety checks and ensure that you’re protected from all eventualities.
Circuit Breakers
Electrical fires are worryingly common, and they’re usually caused by poor wiring, degradation over time, or broken components. This is where circuit breakers come in. Circuit breakers are essential in all home electrics. They are vital safety devices that trip whenever your electric supply jumps over a safe level. This means that whenever your power supply takes an unexpected jump, you’ll be covered by this little gadget.
You should check your fuse panel to see what type you have. If you have a Zinsco panel, then you need a proper circuit breaker as these panels have been the cause of many electrical fires. Make sure you check out the correct Zinsco breakers to keep your home safe.
Fire Alarms
The most accessible and well-known fire safety device is always going to be the old fashioned smoke detector. You should be performing a quick test of your fire alarm every 6 months at least. Pressing the button and listening to the beep will take you 30 seconds, but it could save your life.
If your alarm doesn’t beep, and you’ve checked out the batteries, then you need to get a new one as soon as possible. Luckily, there are plenty to choose from. Make sure you get a reliable and approved smoke detector so you can completely forget about your worries.
Candles
Candles are warm, romantic, and can help anybody to relax and unwind. Unfortunately, they are a very common cause of house fires, but we can take the right precautions to make sure you can keep on enjoying your candles throughout the house!
Burning candles safely is very easy to do. You should always keep the flame away from anything at all, even if it’s around something that doesn’t look flammable, you shouldn’t take risks. Another fantastically easy solution is to get yourself some flame retardant candle holders. You’ll have candle holders anyway, so you should make sure that they’re as safe as they can be so that you’re not leaving anything to chance!
Extinguishers
To cover yourself in a worst-case scenario, you should have a fire extinguisher handy. The most common place to keep your extinguisher is in the kitchen, as that’s a common place for fires to start.
Do your research and make sure you’re buying the correct extinguisher as different types are more suitable for different fires. Domestic fire extinguishers are usually aerosol-based and small enough to tuck away under your sink. They’re designed to be used on multiple fire types, so one of these is worth having just in case.
Fire safety is essential for every home, so make sure you’ve done your research and used the correct materials and equipment. Don’t leave anything to chance. Once you’ve followed these quick and easy steps, you should be far better protected from any home fire.
I’ve recently moved house. One of the first things I did was have the electrics checked. The electrician did find a couple of things that needed doing and also he found some dodgy electrics in the loft. I have fire extinguishers in the kitchen and upstairs. There were already smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors fitted. The Surveyors Report stated that there was no fire escape upstairs. I decided to have new windows fitted as they were quite old. The window fitter pointed out that I wouldn’t get out upstairs, as the window when opened was hitting the soffits. So upstairs I’m having handles at the bottom for them to open a different way