10 Apartment Fire Prevention Tips
House and apartment fires are a common occurrence. Many times these fires can be prevented if you know what to look out for. Here are 10 things to consider when it comes to fire prevention:
1. Don’t overload your circuits
User a power strip because it has a safety mechanism inside. When there are sudden spikes of electricity, the power strip will either smooth them out or shut itself down.
2. Light bulbs
If you use conventional light bulbs (not fluorescent), make sure you get the correct wattage. Using a 100 watt light bulb in a 40 watt socket will lead to overheating and possibly cause a fire. Consider switching to fluorescent light bulbs entirely because they emit considerably less heat than conventional ones.
3. Auto shut off
Buy for appliances with an auto-shut off feature (irons, coffee pots). In case you rush off to work in the morning and leave your iron on, you know that it will shut itself off within a few minutes.
4. Avoid clutter
If you’re using an appliance with a heating element, make sure there is plenty of space around it. Clutter prevents heat from escaping properly. While the appliance may not light on fire, there is a possibility of wires melting which can lead to an electrical fire later on. Additionally, the clutter itself may get too close to the heat source and also cause a fire.
5. Don’t throw water on a grease fire
If there is a grease fire in your kitchen, throwing water on the fire will only make it worse. Use baking soda if you have to. Best thing to do is to turn off the appliance and let it cool off. If it’s an oven, keep the door shut. Opening the door will let in more oxygen and intensify the fire.
6. Clean cooking appliances
Clean your cooking appliances after use. If you don’t clean regularly, you may end up with a food buildup around the heating elements. Under high temperatures this buildup turns to charcoal and can catch fire.
7. Self-cleaning ovens
Self-cleaning ovens: many ovens with a heating element have this feature. The way these ovens clean themselves is they get extremely hot and burn off any of the junk that is inside. Unfortunately, that also causes them to light on fire, which happens all the time.
8. Carbon Monoxide
Get a Monoxide alarm. Carbon Monoxide is a poisonous gas which you can’t see nor smell, yet it is deadly in enclosed spaces. Carbon Monoxide in the home is usually produced by oil furnaces or gas appliances when the fuel is not burned correctly.
9. Test your alarms
Test your smoke and CO2 alarms monthly (at least).
10. Get your chimney cleaned
If your condo or apartment has a fireplace, make sure to get the chimney checked out annually. Based on the type of wood you burn, you can get a lot of build up inside the chimney which can light on fire without you ever knowing. When you find out, it may already be too late.
In addition to being proactive about fire prevention, it is always a good idea to get a portable fire extinguisher for your apartment, in case a fire does occur. The kitchen is usually the best place to keep this. In addition, you should consider getting a fireproof safe to keep your important documents, money, and other valuables locked up and fire protected. These will protect your valuables not only from fires, but also from theives. Just be sure to mount your safe securely.
Most of these things are not hard to implement, once you know what to do, so make sure to do so. When it comes to fires, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
