Candles can provide a warm and festive atmosphere; but they can also be a fire hazard if left unattended or placed near anything flammable. The Home Safety Council encourages families to enjoy the warm and inviting atmosphere of candles while always keeping fire safety in mind:
- Never leave burning candles unattended. Extinguish all candles before going to sleep or leaving the room.
- Do not permit children to keep or use candles or incense in their rooms. Candles should only be used when a sober adult is present and awake.
- Never use lighted candles on or near a Christmas tree or other evergreens.
- Keep candles at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including other decorations and wrapping paper.
- Always use stable, nonflammable candle holders.
- Place candles where they will not be knocked down or blown over and out of reach of pets and young children.
- Always keep burning candles up high, out of the reach of children. If you have children in your home, store candles, matches and lighters out of their sight and reach.
Creosote build-up, which is the result of incomplete combustion, is the leading cause of chimney fires. Burning green wood produces high quantities of creosote as well as some poorly designed wood-burning stoves. Creosote coats chimney flues, creating a serious fire hazard. The following are a few safety tips for woodstoves and fireplaces:
- Chimneys and heating equipment should be inspected by a professional before each heating season.
- Never burn paper or trash in a wood-burning stove. (Flaming bits of paper will rise with the smoke and can ignite creosote build-up or roofing materials).
- Always use a fireplace screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room.
- Allow ashes to cool completely before disposing of them.
- Store removed ashes in tightly covered metal containers, never in boxes, bags or plastic containers.
The second leading cause of heating-related fires is portable and stationary space heaters.
The following are safety tips to be used when heating your home:
- Keep all things that can burn (newspapers, cloth, furniture, etc.) at least three feet away from stoves, fireplaces, portable heaters, and space heaters.
- Never use a cooking appliance to heat your home.
- Plug cords only into outlets with sufficient capacity and never into an extension cord.
- Space heaters should always be turned off when you leave the room or when you go to bed.
- Have all fixed space heaters installed by a qualified heating professional.
- Never use or store LP-Gas tanks inside your home.
- Make sure that all built-in space heaters are properly vented to chimneys and that the chimneys are cleaned and inspected annually.
- Check the flues of your gas water-heater or furnace for corrosion and obstructions that could present fire hazards.
In many cases, you can actually prevent a fire just by reading and following the manufacturer’s instructions. This is especially important when you are using a new heater for the first time.
According to the Home Safety Council’s State of Home Safety in America Report, fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional home injury and related deaths. Fire safety and survival begin with everyone in your household being prepared.
Follow these safety measures from the Home Safety Council to reduce the chance of fire in your home:
- Keep volatile chemicals, such as fertilizers and turpentine, in their original containers in a locked storage area separate from the home.
- Store gasoline in a garage or shed in a container approved for gasoline storage. Never bring or use gasoline indoors; and use it as a motor fuel only.
- Keep things that can burn away from your fireplace and keep a glass or metal screen in front of your fireplace.
- Store matches and lighters in a locked cabinet.
- Always stay in the kitchen while cooking.
- Keep things that can burn, such as dishtowels, paper or plastic bags, and curtains at least three feet away from the range top.
- Douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before dumping them in the trash.
- When cooking, do not wear loose-fitting clothing, which can be ignited by hot burners or gas flames.
- Never leave barbecue grills unattended while in use.
- Keep grills at least three feet away from other objects, including the house and any shrubs or bushes.
- Never leave burning candles unattended and do not allow children to keep candles or incense in their rooms.
- Always use stable, candle holders made of material that won’t catch fire, such as metal, glass, etc.
- Schedule an appointment with professionals to have chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves, central furnaces and space heaters inspected once a year and cleaned as often as necessary.
- Keep space heaters at least three feet away from things that can burn, such as curtains or stacks of newspaper, and always turn off heaters when leaving the room or going to bed.
- Be careful not to overload electrical outlets, extension cords and power strips.
- Check all wires and cords for damage and cover all unused electrical outlets.
- Protect bedrooms by having arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) installed. Contact a professional electrician to handle this job.
Fire safety at home begins with everyone in the home doing their part. It is critical that your home and family are prepared to react quickly if a fire occurs at home. Develop a fire escape plan for your family that identifies two exits out of every room and an established meeting place outside. Practice makes perfect – hold a family fire drill at least twice each year.
Know how to extinguish a small pan fire by sliding a lid over the flames. Have everyone learn how and when to use a fire extinguisher. Likewise, teach every family member how to “Stop, Drop and Roll” if their clothes catch on fire.
- Fire is a leading cause of preventable deaths in the home; but by being prepared to handle this emergency, you can help your family safely exit your home in the event of a fire. Fire safety and survival begins with everyone in your household being prepared. The Home Safety Council recommends the following guidelines for developing a home fire safety plan.
- Early warning is a key element of your fire escape plan. Every home needs working smoke alarms on each story and protecting every place that people sleep. The Home Safety Council recommends installing additional smoke alarms inside all sleeping rooms.
- Sketch out a floor plan of your home, including all rooms, windows, interior and exterior doors, stairways, fire escapes and smoke alarms. Make sure that every family member is familiar with the layout.
- Identify and remedy anything in your home that could possibly interfere with your ability to get out quickly in an emergency, such as windows that are stuck or heavy furniture blocking an exit.
- You need a primary and secondary exit. If you have a multi-story home, consider if you need to purchase fire escape ladders for upstairs bedrooms. If so, they should be part of your fire drill, deployed safely from a ground-floor window for practice.
- Push the ìtest buttonî on a smoke alarm to ensure everyone will recognize the sound of the alarm if it goes off.
- Select two escape routes from each room and mark them clearly on the plan.
- Ensure that family members with special needs, such as someone who is ill or frail, or small children, have a buddy to help them get out safely. If anyone in the household has a hearing impairment, purchase special smoke alarms that use strobes and/or vibrations to signal a fire.
- Designate a place to meet outside so that everyone can be accounted and someone can be assigned to go to a neighbor’s to call 911.
- Make copies of the escape plan sketches and post them in each room until everyone becomes familiar with them.
Practice makes perfect. Every second counts during a real fire. Hold family fire drills frequently and at various times until the escape plans become second nature. Once you’ve mastered the escape process, hold a drill when family members are sleeping so you can test each family memberís ability to awaken and respond to the smoke alarm.
Young children are especially susceptible to heavy sleeping and may not awaken. If any family member does not awaken on his or her own during the drill, assign a buddy to help them wake up and escape in future fire drills and in a real fire emergency.
- Stick around: never leave cooking food unattended.
- Dress right: No loose clothing. Roll up your sleeves.
- No children/no pets: Declare a three-foot “safe zone” around your stove.
- Turn pot handles in: Avoid bumping a pot and spilling hot food.
- Be alert: Don’t cook if you’re sleepy, you’ve been drinking a lot of alcohol, or your taking medication that makes you drowsy.
- Clear the clutter: Keep potholders, food packaging, dishtowels, and other combustibles off your stove top.
- Wipe up spills and clean your oven: Built-up grease can catch fire.
- Clean your work area: Keep curtains and anything that burns at least three feet away from your stove.
- Hot dishes: Open microwaved food slowly and allow it to cool before eating it.
- Steam Heat: Never use a wet mitt or potholder.
- Prevent dangerous overloads. Use only one heat-producing appliance on the same circuit at a time.
- No shocking behavior: Have ground fault circuits interrupters (GFCI) installed on all kitchen outlets.
- Avoid discord: Replace cracked or frayed appliance cords.
- Don’t get overheated: If an appliance feels too hot or smells funny, unplug it immediately and have it serviced or replaced.
Kitchen Fires
- If a pan or food catches fire: don’t use a fire extinguisher or spray water. Smother the fire by sliding a lid over the pan. Turn off the burner. Prevent flare-ups by holding the lid firmly in place until the pan has cooled.
- Oven fire: close the door and turn off the heat.
- Microwave fire: keep the door closed and unplug the microwave. Have the oven serviced before you use it again.
Electrical fires in our homes claim the lives of 484 Americans each year and injure 2,305 more. Some of these fires are caused by electrical system failures and appliance defects, but many more are caused by the misuse and poor maintenance of electrical appliances, incorrectly installed wiring, and overloaded circuits and extension cords. The Stoneham Fire Department would like residents to know that there are simple steps you can take to prevent the loss of life and property resulting from electrical fires.
- During a typical year, home electrical problems account for 67,800 fires and $868 million in property loss. Home electrical wiring causes twice as many fires as electrical appliances.
- December is the most dangerous month for electrical fires. Fire deaths are highest in winter months which call for more indoor activities and increase in lighting, heating, and appliance use. Most electrical fires start in the bedroom.
- Most electrical fires result from problems with “fixed wiring” such as faulty electrical outlets and old wiring. Problems with cords and plugs, such as extension and appliance cords, also cause many home electrical fires.
- In urban areas, faulty wiring accounts for 33% of residential electrical fires.
- Many avoidable electrical fires can be traced to misuse of electric cords, such as overloading circuits, poor maintenance and running the cords under rugs or in high traffic areas.
- The home appliances most often involved in electrical fires are electric stoves and ovens, dryers, central heating units, televisions, and radios.
Safety Precautions
- Routinely check your electric appliances and wiring.
- Frayed wires can cause fires. Replace all worn, old, or damaged appliance cords immediately.
- Use electrical extension cords wisely and don’t overload them.
- Keep electrical appliances away from wet floors and counters; pay special care to electrical appliances in the bathroom and kitchen.
- When buying electrical appliances look for products which meet the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) standard for safety.
- Don’t allow children to play with or around electrical appliances like space heaters, irons, and hair dryers.
- Keep clothes, curtains, and other potentially combustible items at least three feet from all heaters.
- If an appliance has a three-prong plug, use it only in a three-slot outlet. Never force it to fit into a two-slot outlet or extension cord.
- Never overload extension cords or wall sockets. Immediately shut off, then professionally replace, light switches that are hot to the touch and lights that flicker.
- Check your electrical tools regularly for signs of wear. If the cords are frayed or cracked, replace them. Replace any tool if it causes even small electrical shocks, overheats, shorts out or gives off smoke or sparks.