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There have been many, many, many very destructive fires in the past. Many of these fires were caused by natural causes like lightning, but many, many more of these fires were caused by some fire safety error of some person. In fact, about 95% of fires are caused by people. That is why we all need to take the our responsibility for fire safety and prevention very seriously.

There are several things you can do to prevent fires right in your home. I have done my best to cover all areas in which you can help to prevent fires in your home below. If there is any information on this site that you didn't know before, apply it to your home as soon as possible.

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Fire extinguishers are a necessity. They can put a smaller fire out before it has time to get big. You should always have a fire extinguisher with you whether you are in a boat, house, car, or anything else. Every house should have a least one and it would be even safer to have more than one. If there is ever a fire, an adult can use a fire extinguisher to put it out if it is safe to do so.

Another thing you need to have in your home is smoke detectors. Smoke detectors can save your life in a fire. You should have a smoke detector on every level of your house. It would be best to have one in every room in the house. Check to make sure your smoke detectors are working once a month and change the batteries once a year. If you have a smoke detector with bad batteries, it is not going to do you any good in a fire. So, you need to make sure the batteries are working. Even if the batteries aren't worn out in your smoke detector by the end of the year, you should still change them. If you are using fresh batteries, the smoke detector will work a lot better.

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Let children hear the alarm of a smoke detector and explain what it means. Remind them never to borrow batteries from a smoke detector. Also, in preparation for an emergency, plan an escape route and a meeting place outside. Practice using this escape plan. Explain the plan to everyone in the family, and post it along with emergency phone numbers around the house. Show the posted plan to babysitters and house guests.

Smoke detectors are made to let you know that there is a fire very soon after the fire has started so that you have time to get out. If you don't have smoke detectors in your house, you need to get them because smoke detectors can save your life!

Photo courtesy of Art Today

Think about how you heat your home. Most of us use a woodstove, fireplace, or heater. If you use a woodstove or fireplace to heat your home, there are a few things you need to keep in mind in order to maintain a fire safe home. You need to give your woodstove or fireplace space. You don't want to have anything very close that could catch on fire. Also, don't burn wet (live) wood in your woodstove or fireplace. Doing so causes soot to build up in your chimney and could cause a chimney fire. You should have your chimney checked by a chimney sweep at least once a year.

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If you don't have a woodstove or fireplace in your home, you probably have a few heaters. Heaters can be disastrous if not taken care of properly. If you have a heater in your home, keep everything at least three feet away from it. Paper and even things like socks and other clothes could be a fire hazard if you leave them too close to your heater. When your heater is on, it will heat up all the things close by it and make them really hot. Be very careful with your heater. Check all the heaters in your home and make sure that they have a three foot clearance in front of them, too. Having things in front of your heaters is a big fire hazard.

Photo courtesy of Art Today

When you cook, there are a few safety tips you need to remember. If you are not careful, you could accidently start a fire while you are cooking. When you cook, make sure you are wearing a short-sleeved shirt or roll your sleeves up. If you wear long loose sleeves while cooking on the stove, the burner could catch your sleeve on fire. The same thing could happen if you accidently left the burner on and then set something on it. That is why you need to make sure you never set things on the burner. Another thing you should always have around while you are cooking is a lid. You should have a lid ready to put over your pot in case what you are cooking catches on fire. Don't ever cook anything while you are outside or away from home either. Something could catch on fire and if you were gone, you would not even know it until you came home. If you were outside, it might take a while for you to find out and by then the fire would be pretty big. Besides, you could forget about your cooking and burn it. I hope you have a lot of fun while you are cooking, but be very careful!

| Safety - Introduction | | Electrical Fire Safety | | Safe Landscaping | | Camping Safety | | In Case Of A Fire |