About 500 children die yearly in house fires with seven-of-ten of them inhaling smoke or gas. Another 10% of the country’s youngsters will have injuries that require hospitalizations.  It is these statistics that our staff keep in mind when serving Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire families. If you have a fire, here are fire damage restoration tips to keep your family safe.

1. Alter Family Behaviors

• Keep clutter clear of cooking or heating sources.
• Create a solid safety barrier around outdoor fires.
• Have your furnace inspected and cleaned before winter.
• Clean your dryer’s filter regularly to prevent blockages.
• Never barbeque near the home, garage, shrubs, or trees.
• Never leave cooking stoves, fireplaces, or candles unattended.
• Keep lighters and matches put up and away from prying eyes and hands.
• Never smoke indoors. While 5% is attributed to smoking, nearly a fourth result in death.
• Keep flammable liquids away from appliances, stoves, radiators, water heaters, and electrical sources.
• Make sure night clothes are fire-retardant. Your family may need to run quickly out of the house near flames.
• Never use low-priced extension cords as they are fire hazards. Use smart extension cords to reduce the chance of electrical fires.
• If you have gas appliances, we recommend installing CO2 alarms. It will help keep your family safe from unseen hazards.

2. Install Multiple Smoke Alarms

About 50% of homes where children died occurred at night. This fact makes it essential to not only have working smoke alarms but to place them in primary household locations. We highly recommend placing a fire alarm on each floor of the house (including the basement and attic), outside bedrooms, playrooms, and the room where the furnace is located. We also recommend to families to make it a habit when changing the furnace filters seasonally to also clean and test all the smoke alarm batteries.  We also highly recommend installing a fire sprinkler system to minimize any fire damage. By containing the damage to a smaller area in your home, it will promote safety and reduce fire damage restoration costs.

3. Practice Household Safety Plans

Every room in a house has the potential to be a starting point for a fire. It’s important to take the time to go through each room and assess fire safety issues. Here’s are a few tips.

• Always use a screen when your fireplace is in usage.
• Have a fire extinguisher handy on every floor of your home..
• Discuss with your family about fire types and how to extinguish them.
• Before entering any room, use the back of your hand to check the heat on a doorknob.
• Do not enter a room when the doorknob is hot.
• When exiting a room, close doors behind you to stop oxygen from feeding a fire.
• If smoke is hanging low, crawl toward the exit so that you consume the cleanest air.
• Create a fire safety zone around your house by removing debris, leaves, and woodpiles.
• If your family’s bedrooms are upstairs, have a clear strategy in place for easy evacuation.
• Have your fireplace and chimney, if applicable, inspected and cleaned before the winter begins.
• Never use electric or kerosene space heaters in areas with poor ventilation or close to your furniture or bedding.
• Practice your safety plan often. Talk to your children about why you are doing it, how to do it, and not re-enter a home.
• Create a visual plan of your house and include exits as well as meeting locations.
• Practice fire drills to prepare your children for real emergencies, including how to evacuate, how to call 911, and where to meet outside.
• Teach your family the stop, drop, and roll method. Use YouTube to teach small children: youtube.com/watch?v=aUdxOmHgeZ4/
• Tell your children to use their night lights to signal the fire department at their windows if they get trapped in a room upstairs.
• If you are trapped inside the home, close the door and put bedding, towels, clothes, or anything you can find under the door spacing.
• Place a fire safety kit on each floor (or in an adjoining bathroom) that includes water and cloth face masks to wet and place over faces.

We’ll be there when you need us to offer fire damage restoration or to help your family make positive fire safety plan changes that promote your loved ones well-being. We invite you to call our office to learn more about our fire safety inspection and our emergency services by calling us at 1-800-847-0114. You can also visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RestorePro911/.