All The Important Things You Need To Know About Fire Safety In Your Home

All The Important Things You Need To Know About Fire Safety In Your Home

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It's that time of the year when the temperatures start to drop and you find yourself turning on your stove and cranking up the heat. With all the fireplaces, heaters and stoves on full blast, it's especially important to be up-to-date on how to safely keep your home protected when it comes to fires.

We spoke with G. Keith Bryant, the President and Chairman of the Board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and Tom Olshanki, a spokesperson for the US Fire Administration about all the tools and devices you should have to protect yourself and the things you absolutely need to know in order to keep you (and your loved ones) safe this season.

Here are the three things you need:

Why You Need One
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it's important to have a smoke alarm because they will quickly detect smoke particles from "fast flaming fires that give off little smoke."

How Many Do You Need?
The amount of smoke alarms you should have depends on the size of your house. Bryant recommends a minimum of one alarm per level of your house. If your house is multi-leveled, he says you should have one at the top of the stairs, in every cooking area and in the living room. You should also make sure that there is an alarm outside every room someone sleeps in.

Why You Need One
According to the EPA, carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and deadly gas that can emit from space heaters, leaking chimneys, furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces and gas stoves. Since it's impossible to detect this gas on your own, it's vital to have at least one carbon monoxide detector in your home.

How Many Do You Need?
This really depends on the kind of home you have, but Bryant says you should "definitely have one near an area of heating (a room with a fireplace or stove) and hot water heaters."

OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Some devices do double duty: Search your local hardware store for a " Combination Carbon Monoxide/Smoke Alarm."Olshanski says to make sure that the device has a label that indicates it's been tested by the UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc) or the "FM" ( Factory Mutual), or that it has proven itself under test facilities. "Those companies give the certification that the devices act as they should as far as detecting the proper amount of concentration of smoke or carbon monoxide," says Bryant. "You want to make sure that those alarms work within the recommended limits."

How Many Do You Need?
You'll want an extinguisher in every location in or around your house where a fire may occur. There are four types of extinguishers that are labeled as A, B, C and D. "A" extinguishers are for combustible material, like paper and wood, "B" extinguishers are for flammable liquids, "C" extinguishers are for electrical fires and "D" extinguishers are for metals. Olshanski says almost no one buys "D" extinguishers and most people usually purchase combination extinguishers of A/B or A/B/C.

Smoke alarms will detect a fire at a very early stage, but they will not prevent a fire.

"Most people put up their detectors and then they disregard it to some extent,"says Bryant. Put reminders up to check on your detectors.

If you have fireplaces, you need to check those for creosote. "Creosote is flammable buildup from burning wood that has sap in it or from softer woods, that as it gets heated and as it goes up the chimney, it goes up the flue and it cakes on the side of the chimney," says Olshanski. You should hire a chimney cleaning service to thoroughly clean out your chimney. Olshanki highly recommends using a company to do this and not trying to do it on your own since it's a highly-specialized skill that requires you to reach the top of your chimney. You should get your chimney cleaned before the start of the season to clear out any nests from birds or squirrels and to check for any rust or damage from storms.

Don't put your electric space heater too close to a bed or to clothing, and make sure that you put them in a well-ventilated area. You also need to be sure that they are working properly before you start using them. "Surprisingly, a tremendous amount of fires will come from space heaters," says Olshanski. Before you start using it, give it test run and make sure nothing is damaged and no cords have holes in them. "You have to make sure the electrical cords are still in good condition and not emitting sparks," says Bryant. "You need to observe it when you turn it on to make its working in proper working order."

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