Every year, thousands of people die from fire in the U.S., with most residential fire deaths occurring not from the flames, but from smoke inhalation and toxic gases. The sad part is that we can prevent many deaths by taking a few precautions, such as installing smoke alarms. Windows and doors also play an important role in preventing fires in your home. Vents, chimneys, and gutters are other good home fire-prevention components. In this article, we will discuss the different ways in which we can prevent a catastrophic home fire.

Smoke and Fire Alarms

Smoke and fire alarms are the number one lifesavers when a fire breaks out in a home. Sadly, two-thirds of home fires deaths occur where there is no smoke and fire alarms present, or the batteries in the alarms are dead. Sometimes, even if fire and smoke alarms are present they could be not working properly or disconnected. We have a tendency to overlook the importance of having fire and smoke alarms in our homes, although they are the most important pieces of hardware in your home. Nowadays, many local jurisdictions require you to have smoke and fire alarms in your home.

There are two types of fire alarms, which include ionization and photoelectric alarms. The ionization alarm is better at detecting fires with flames, it is the most common, it is cheaper, and can detect minute amounts of smoke. Photoelectric alarms are good at detecting fires that are smoldering but are a bit more expensive. The best thing to do is to get a dual sensor alarm that employs both types of technology. By employing the following tips on alarms; you can reduce the chances of a deadly fire in your house.

Firstly, you want to purchase a smoke alarm for every floor of your house. Be sure to read the instructions on how to operate the alarm, as well as where to place the smoke alarm. You should place smoke/fire alarms near bedrooms, on the ceiling or wall about six to twelve inches below the ceiling. You can check with your local fire department and building code to see if they have additional requirements. It is also a good idea to place a Class: A fire extinguisher on each floor of your house.  

Another good tip to know about protecting your home from a fire is to place alarms in every bedroom and outside of every sleeping area. Be sure to place an alarm in the basement and garage as well.

The most important element of fire prevention when using smoke/fire alarms it to test your alarms on a monthly basis, simply by pushing the test button on the alarm. If an alarm is not working, replace the batteries. If the batteries do not fix the problem, then you will want to replace the alarm.

Make sure to replace all alarm batteries at least once per year. If the alarms starts to make a chirping sound and the battery signal is low, you will need to replace the alarm immediately. You will also want to replace the alarm every ten years. Another consideration when replacing alarms is to install alarms powered by batteries that are sealed-in and have a long life span.

When you are in the kitchen cooking and burn something that causes the smoke/fire alarm to go off, do not disconnect it for any reason. Cooking is the leading cause of house fires, which tend to happen when stovetops and ovens are on for long periods. Although our first thought is to turn the alarm off for now and reconnect it later, instead, try turning on your stovetop fan, open windows, or even place a fan near the alarm.

Other considerations to take into account include thinking about every member of your family and any health concerns. For instance, if someone in your house is deaf or hard of hearing you may want to get a smoke/fire alarm that has a strobe light or vibration option. In addition, if someone in your house is a very heavy sleeper, be sure the alarm is loud enough to wake him or her up.

Windows and Doors

Windows and doors play an important role in the evacuation of a house fire. Windows and doors provide an escape route out of your house when a fire starts. In particular, windows are very important in your fire escape plan. Building codes require that every bedroom have a secondary way out of the room in the event of smoke and/or fire blocking the primary way out of the room. A window is not enough, so make sure everyone in your family knows what to do in a fire and know all escape routes.

Windows play a key role in your fire escape plan, however; you need to know about the hazards that come with windows. Children are especially vulnerable when it comes to windows. An open window poses a perfect opportunity for a child to fall out of the window. Be sure to keep your children away from open windows when getting fresh air. You can also open an upper window to make sure that your children do not fall out of the window. Do not place furniture items near the windows, so that your children do not have access to the window, preventing them from falling out. Do not leave a child unattended, as they may find a way to reach the window, despite your best efforts. In addition, window screens may keep insects out, but they will not keep your children inside.

We also recommend using window-fall prevention devices such as window guards to keep your children from falling out of a window. There are industry standards for window-fall devices, which include releases that allow you to escape during a fire in your home. Therefore, be careful to use only devices that comply with the most current industry standards.

If you are unable to shoulder the extra cost of fire-rated custom windows, you can install throughout you home with dual-paned windows . Dual-paned windows are not designed to protect against the heat of a fire, however, they provide more protection than a single-paned window. Typically, the outer pane will break during a fire and leave the inner pane intact. The inner pane heats up slowly and evenly, which helps the inner pane to resist cracking.

In regards to the framing of the windows, steel is the best option, but not offered by many window manufacturers. Your next best options are aluminum and wood, which are similar in performance. Vinyl framing for your windows is the least effective against a house fire.

It is necessary to have a balanced approach to the safety of your windows and doors, so be sure to prepare and practice your fire escape plan on a monthly basis.

Vents, Chimney, and Gutters

A.     Vents

Vents play an important role in your fire escape and protection plans. When a house has unvented windows, the temperature rises three times the temperature rise than that of a house with vented windows. In this case, the temperature exceeds the point in which the structural steelwork will buckle and distort. In an unvented house with large floor areas, fire tends to spread rapidly and laterally. The hot gases from a house fire rise to the ceiling and form a layer that builds downward towards the floor of your home.

A correctly vented house can become the determining factor in whether or not you and your family escape a house fire safely. Fire vents reduce the temperature in the roof space of your house that is well below the distortion temperature of structural steelwork. Fire vents quickly remove the partially burnt gases that would eventually amass in the roof space of your house, which presents an explosion danger. Fire vents in your home enable firefighters to approach the source of the house fire and fight the fire without a breathing apparatus, by releasing the heat, smoke and other byproducts of combustion. Fire vents also have an effect on the reduction lateral spread of the fire, which prevents the heat from expanding over an area of the fire and the heating of other materials to the point of ignition. `

Be sure to check your dryer vent every time you use your dryer. The lint from your dryer vent can heat up and combust, starting a house fire. If you properly vent and clean your dryer vent when you use it, it can reduce the chance of a house fire. Be sure to replace old plastic vents with metal vents, as plastic will burn and melt very easily, putting you and your family at risk for a catastrophic house fire. Following are some tips to use for the safety of using a dryer:

• Never, under any circumstance, use your dryer without a lint filter, as the lint will build up and become a fire hazard.

• After each load of laundry you do, make sure to clean the lint filter and remove the lint collected around the drum of the dryer.

• You should use flexible or rigid metal vents to sustain the proper amount of airflow and drying time required for your dryer, to reduce the chances of a house fire.

• Be sure that you are using the correct type of outlet for a dryer and that it is properly connected.

• Do not forget to turn your dryer off when you go to bed or leave the house.

• Be sure to keep your dryer in a good condition of working order. If you have a gas dryer, you should have a professional inspect it to make sure there are no leaks and that the gas line and connections are unbroken.

• Make sure that you do not overload your dryer, as it can cause a fire hazard.

• Check your dryer's exhaust vent pipe to make sure there are no obstructions, as this can also cause a fire hazard in your home. If you start noticing that, your clothes are taking a long time to dry, that may be an indication that lint is built up in your dryer's exhaust pipe.

C.      Chimney

There are two basic purposes for chimneys and vents installed in your home. Chimneys and vents create a draft for proper combustion, as well as creating a pathway for the combustion byproducts to leave your home safely. When you burn wood in a fireplace, it produces smoke, water vapor, gases and unburned particles of wood. The byproducts then rise into the chimney, which is cooler, and they condense forming creosote. Creosote is a dark, tarry residue left on the inner walls of your chimney. Since creosote is a combustible material, it can ignite and provide the fuel needed for a chimney fire in your home.

Chimneys and vents cause many of the fires in homes in which the people use the fireplace as their main means of heat. Failure to clean your chimney on a periodic basis can create a potential fire threat to your home. If you allow your chimney to clog up with creosote, it can also cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

1.      Chimney and Vent Inspections

Having your chimney undergo an annual inspection by a certified chimney sweep, will keep your chimney clean and safe from a potential fire hazard. The chimney sweep will inspect your chimney and vents, perform any needed cleaning, and maintenance or repairs on your chimney.

The National Fire Protection Association defines three levels of chimney and vent inspections. The results of the chimney sweep's inspection will determine what level of inspection that he or she will have to do to maintain your chimney.

A level one inspection is the most commonly used and is the least invasive; this involves the examination of the most readily accessible areas of your chimney, which include the fireplace and flue. The chimney sweep will look for obstructions and creosote deposits using special inspection cameras that will tell them the conditions of the interior pipes, mortar joints, flues, and flue liners.

A chimney sweep will require a level two inspection if there is a change in the fuel or heat producing appliance connected to a chimney or if they need to install an additional appliance.

A level three inspection is the most comprehensive type of inspection and required if a chimney fire damaged the chimney of a house or if a chimney sweep cannot perform a level one or level two inspection, due to the lack of access to hidden places. A level three inspection may include the removal of house or chimney components to gain access to the hidden areas, and can become quite expensive to perform and restore.

We recommend installing a chimney cap to your chimney. A chimney cap will help to keep sparks from leaping out of your chimney, which can start a fire on the outside of your house. A chimney cap will also keep moisture out of your chimney preventing the deterioration of mortar joints located between clay liners and bricks, and reducing the chances of a chimney fire.

2.      Signs of Trouble

A chimney will let you know when there is a problem and that a chimney fire has already occurred or is currently burning. You may hear a loud roar coming from your chimney or you may see creosote flakes on the ground, on the roof, or in the gutters. You may also see smoke escaping through cracks around the fireplace or into the attic. These are all signs of trouble that you should know in order to protect yourself, your family, and your property.

D.     Gutters

Everyone loves fall when the leaves start turning colors creating a beautiful mosaic across the landscape, but those leaves eventually fall from the trees and end up in gutters everywhere. If you have trees in your yard and they span over your house, you will need to clean them periodically to prevent a fire in your home. For example, if your neighbor is burning leaves in their backyard and your gutters are full of dried leaves; all it will take is for one ember to fly up from a gust of wind to set your gutters on fire. You also might want to consider installing metal gutter guards and attach a sprinkler system to your gutters, as a precaution.