5 Tips for Fire Prevention Around the House

11/16/2019 (Permalink)

Are you paying attention to some early warning signs or recognizing the potential for fire hazards? We have heard of crime dogs but being a fire hound can make your life much safer.  Here are a 5 things to be on the lookout for around your home of office.

Overloaded plugs – with Christmas time coming and the extraordinary amount of electronics we have in our homes, it is easy to overload a two-plug circuit. Never daisy chain extension cords or multiplug surge protectors. Be sure to follow the guideline on the manufacturer’s instructions for Christmas lights and decorations. Bob Vila has a list of 10 things not to plug into a power strip, consider leaving some of these energy vampires unplugged when not in use.

Everybody has a junk drawer, right? Do you store batteries in that drawer? If you do, they could potentially be a fire hazard. According to Battery Products you should never store loose batteries. The reason is the same you should not just throw batteries in a trash can. Even low voltage has the potential to start a fire.   This video of a battery starting a fire was set intentionally, but think of all the metal and paper items in your junk drawer is it fire hazardous? Battery organizers help prevent batteries from being loose and the negative and positive ends from coming into contact.

What is that smell? Do you come into a room turn a light switch and it smells like plastic melting? It may smell like a drill or a mixer that has run to long. Now if an appliance is new that may be normal, for a bit. But if that smell is coming from a wall switch or outlet it’s time to turn it off and call and electrician to check it out.

Speaking of turning on light switches, do they flicker? If one light is flickering it may be a loose bulb but when multiple lights flicker that is not a good sign. Tighten or replace the bulb and if the flickering continues call an electrician.

Circuit breakers keep tripping. If your circuit breakers keep needing to be reset see tip number 1. But if overloaded plugs are not the case then you may need to replace the breaker. Usually these don’t need a lot of maintenance but age and use can eventually wear one out. Never attempt to do this with the main power on to the home.  If you are even a little unsure of how to do this call a professional and I don’t mean YouTube.

We hope that you never experience a fire in your home or office but if you do you can count on the expertise of SERVPRO of West Forsyth County to help you. It’s best to call us directly at 336-946-1131