A house fire is a disaster no one would ever want to happen in their cherished home. It can leave significant damage that often causes casualties and even fatalities. Some house fires occur due to factors such as wildfires. However, it mainly occurs due to simple household chores like cooking accidents, heating, negligence, or just plain carelessness.
There’s no surefire way to prevent accidental fires, but there are preventive measures to reduce the damage they may cause. Now let’s discuss how to make your home fire-resistant to protect your valuables and loved ones.
How to Fireproof a Home
While it’s impossible to have a completely fireproof house, there are precautions you can take to make your place as fire-resistant as possible. So below are five valuable tips you can follow to protect your residence from prevalent home fires.
1. Install fire and smoke alarms
Home fires may occur at the most unpredictable times. It may happen when you’re sleeping soundly in your bed at night or when you’re busy doing something in your backyard where you’ve no idea what’s happening inside your home. This is why it’s essential to have fire and smoke alarms that can detect a fire early to prevent it from causing more trouble.
Smoke alarms are effective in fireproofing a home as it gives the homeowner an advance warning to help them escape and allow the firefighters to extinguish the fire. Paired with sprinkler systems, you’ll have better defense against fires. However, you should maintain it regularly, as faulty sprinkler systems may cause mold growth.
Otherwise, you’ll have to hire professionals that offer mold removal in Lynnwood to address the situation should mold infest your home.
2. Have a fire extinguisher ready
Fire extinguishers can make a difference between a cooking accident that was successfully contained and a house that burned down due to helplessness or lack of equipment. Fire extinguishers are classified according to the kind of fire they can tackle. Also, you must be knowledgeable of the differences between each class, and you should know how to use it in times of emergency.
Having a fire extinguisher ready teaches you to be proactive in diffusing fires. However, you’d still have to hire property restoration professionals after a fire breaks out, especially if the fire caused damage. This is to ensure no further damage will occur.
3. Clean around your home
Remove dry grass, dead tree branches, dead leaves, and foliage around your residence. These materials are easily ignitable, so clean your yard and surrounding property regularly before bushfire season begins. Also, ensure flammable liquids are always kept in fireproof containers.
Is your area under inspection due to criminal activity where biohazardous wastes are involved? To prevent health risks, you should hire companies specializing in biohazard cleanup in Lynnwood to deodorize and sanitize your area.
4. Install double-pane windows
Glass won’t sustain much against fires, so giving attention to your windows when fireproofing your home is crucial. Installing double-pane windows can help increase your windows’ resistance to shattering against heat.
5. Ensure firetrucks can get to your home
Firefighters can’t extinguish the fire if their firetruck can’t get to your home in the first place. Fire trucks need a solid road, so you should ensure that your driveway is solid enough to accommodate a firetruck. It greatly helps to have a place where a truck can turn around. In addition, think of anything that may block the access in case a fire breaks out, such as a gate. It’s necessary to have a place that’s easy to access if you reside in a fire-prone area.
