6 Common Causes of Home Fires

2/18/2022 (Permalink)

Fire damage in San Marco, FL.

Causes of Home Fires

Sometimes an inferno can erupt without warning. Often, however, homeowners can take proactive steps to minimize the risk of a home fire. To correct potential vulnerabilities and safeguard their property from fire damage, every resident of San Marco, FL, should recognize six common fire causes.

1. Faulty Wiring

Faulty components in your home’s electrical system can be dangerous. If you frequently blow fuses or notice lights dimming while an appliance is in use, you should promptly contact a licensed electrician.

2. Electrical Hazards

Frayed electrical cords and overloaded outlets can also be hazardous. You should refrain from using any device with a damaged cord. In addition, you should limit the use of extension cords, avoid plugging multiple items into a single outlet and refrain from running electrical cables under carpets and rugs.

3. Heating Equipment

Heating equipment can also spark a home fire. To alleviate this concern, you should routinely clean existing chimneys and hire a licensed professional to inspect your furnace annually. It’s also important to keep portable heaters away from upholstered furniture, paper, blankets, curtains and other flammable objects.

4. Kitchen Accidents

Many blazes originate in kitchens where flammable grease can splatter and unattended pots can overheat. To prevent an accidental inferno, you should never leave the stove unattended while cooking. As a precaution, you should also be ready to smother any flames that may erupt with a metal lid or a fire extinguisher.

5. Smoking

Improperly extinguished cigarettes can also pose a threat. If you smoke, you should use a deep ashtray to extinguish butts and refrain from smoking in bed where embers can easily ignite flammable cloth.

6. Curious Children

Children are naturally curious about the world around them. To help prevent accidents, it’s important for kids to recognize the dangers fire can present and understand why they should avoid playing with matches, lighters and candles.

Most homeowners probably have no desire to add fire cleaning duties to their to-do lists. Although preventing every home fire may be impossible, everyone can take preemptive measures to reduce the risk of a destructive blaze.