There’s no doubt that a fire can have devastating effects on your home and your family. The best way to ensure that your family and home are free from the damaging path of a fire is to take active measure to prevent a fire. Throughout this blog, we share five tips that will help you fireproof your home so that your family will be at a much less risk.

Double Check Your Home’s Lighting

A big cause of home fires is that the light bulbs in your lamps are too close to the curtains or drapes. This consistent heat on the cloth could spark a fire, which would spread rapidly because of the material. It’s important that all kinds of lighting in your home — lamps, night lights, etc — are all away from and kind of curtain or cloth material to ensure that their heat will not affect the curtain.

Keep Fire Extinguishers Around

The best way to prevent fires from spreading is to put them out when they are small and more contained. A fire extinguisher will do just that. Keeping multiple fire extinguishers around your home (on each floor, but especially in the kitchen) will help ensure that fires are put out before they spread. Be sure that all of your family knows where they are and how to use them — you never know who will be around when a fire is started.

Test Your Smoke Detectors Monthly

If you’re a fan of the show, This Is Us, then you know how important this tip is. Smoke detectors are a vital part of fire prevention, especially at night when all of your family is asleep. We’d recommend installing smoke detectors into every room of your home. You should also have monthly testing of each detector and replace the batteries of your home’s smoke detector as soon as they are low. Never put this chore off or it could be fatal.

Never Leave the Kitchen When Cooking

Stove-top cooking is another leading cause of fires as pots and pans get engulfed in flames if left for too long on such heat. To ensure that your kitchen doesn’t have this happen, you should never leave the kitchen when cooking, especially if you’re cooking on the stove-top. Microwave ovens are another leading cause of fires in the home so be sure to teach children proper and safe microwave use.

Have a Family Plan

Preparing for a fire is never fun, but failing to prepare could have devastating consequences. Teaching children from a young age how to react to a fire could save their lives. Your family should have an evacuation plan, a meeting spot, and should be knowledgeable on fire prevention to help limit the risk of fires. When able, children should also be taught how to use fire extinguishers.

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Of course, having home insurance is another vital part of protecting your house and belongings against a fire. If you’re interested in home insurance, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’d love to chat!