Fire prevention 101

There are almost 400000 house fires in the United States every year, with an average of about 3000 deaths and injuries of 15000 during the same period. Financial losses could total hundreds of millions. With so many opportunities to fire at any given House, it is important to take proper care to make sure that your home doesn't become a statistic.

Of course as any disaster, house fires are not 100% completely avoidable, but you can take steps to reduce the chances of disaster and make your home less than a likely target. Consider each of the following options and how they apply to your home.

To begin with, has a trail of emergency plan in case of fire, a form for each family member safely exit the House, along with a predetermined meeting point, so you can be sure that everybody made fatoFora. You might also want to install rope ladders upstairs Windows and make sure all family members know how to extend them and use them.

Two words: smoke detectors. Install them in your home and keep fresh batteries in them. Change the batteries out about once every six months. If you don't tend to go off when the batteries get low, often in the middle of the night, which is sure to give everyone a beginning.

You must also have fire extinguishers located in and around the areas of higher risk of your home, such as the kitchen and near the fireplace. Keep in mind that fire extinguishers have an expiration date, until the pair in those times and adjust accordingly.

Heaters are always good to save money, but can become the fire hazard if not properly maintained or cared. Make sure that your heater is designed to automatically shut down if he accidentally turns.

Electrical outlets are prime locations for fire problems. Do not overload the circuits and check regularly for damaged or frayed cables. Try not to let cables from becoming entangled around curtains hanging low.

If you use candles, never leave them unattended and extinguish them completely when finished. This is especially important if you have children or pets in your home. A candle fall could result in the destruction of his whole House.

If you are using your fireplace, make sure that the combustion is correctly opened to prevent damage. You also must wait until a fire is completely out (i.e. no bright red particles) before leaving it unattended. Start a fire at 11 is not wise unless you are prepared to stay until the wee hours making sure everything is running out.

You must also use a fireplace screen to avoid any burning materials out of the fireplace and landing on your carpet. This could start a fire in a matter of seconds. Never use glossy paper, wrapping paper or lighter fluid to start a fire, as this could lead to unexpected ignition. And never fill your fireplace with logs or worse, that you are looking for the incineration of garbage.

Always make sure your stove and oven are off. The same applies to the other, smaller appliances such as irons. And don't forget to keep flammable items away from these devices at all times.

Keep your fireplace properly maintained and cleaned. Chimney fires are by no means rare, resulting in hundreds of homes destroyed annually.

If you smoke, keep the lighters and matches safely out of reach of children. A significant proportion of the fires are started every year by children playing with matches.

Don't smoke in bed. It is very easy to simply fall asleep while reading or talking … do you really want to run the risk of falling asleep with a burning cigarette in your hand? Similarly, discourage your guests to do so.

Keep all flammable liquids such as gasoline, paints and varnishes properly stored, preferably in containers made of such material. Immediately clean any spillage and not expose material to an open flame.

In case of fire, make sure everyone, even children, not just know about the escape plan, but also how to call 911. Even very young children can do this. They should be able to give at least a street address.

Take some common-sense steps can help protect your home from fire and smoke damage.

Billy is Director of content for LeadsByFone, a lead generation company serving the industry restore damage and flood water and marketing.