Home Fire Safety Tips

Home fire safety is perhaps one of the most crucial things everyone who owns a home should understand. Homeowners, renters, and even family members all have a stake in preventing fires. People in general should understand that fire and smoke are one of those chaotic forces of nature that we think we understand until it’s staring us right in the face. If that time ever comes, we better hope we’re prepared to deal with it head-on. To assist everyone in being prepared, we at ESI, Emergency Systems Inc. have put together some home fire safety tips, that you should consider, what you need to plan for, and how you can do your due diligence which can make all the difference should the worst happen and your dwelling becomes involved in a fire and smoke break-out.

At ESI we are an experienced commercial as well as a residential security alarm company with over 40 years of experience.

ESI’s Top Home Fire Safety Tips

Remember only you can prevent serious injury or death by following these important tips!

Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms, kitchens, basements, and garages also outside sleeping areas. 

Test smoke alarms every other month. If they’re not working, change the batteries.

Talk with all inhabitants and family members about a fire escape plan if one should break out. Practice the plan at least twice a year.

If a fire occurs anywhere in your home- GET OUT, STAY OUT and CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR HELP. Never go back inside for anything or anyone.

Installing smoke alarms on every level of your home should also include inside and outside bedrooms. This will ensure that should a fire catch anywhere in the home it will be caught immediately by sleeping inhabitants. Fire and smoke can spread so shockingly fast, that the sooner you are alerted to its presence the better.

Test these smoke alarms every other month. Just having them up on ceilings and walls won’t do you any good if they’re not working. If you moved into a home or apartment that already has alarms, test them right now and verify they are working properly, it could save your life. Change out the batteries immediately because you are probably unsure when they last were.

Having a known fire escape plan and practicing with family members is crucial to building in a safe response. We mentioned earlier that when people become face to face with a fire, they might not know what to expect of themselves. Will they freeze in the event of smoke? Will they run without notifying anyone to the existence of a fire? That’s why you have to practice a response, so it is second nature. That’s why people in first-responding jobs like police, emergency staff, firefighters, train.

Include in your fire safety plan the sound of the smoke alarm, so everyone becomes familiar with it. Then they will know what to do right when it triggers. Create an effective escape plan from every room in your home. Identify what’s the fastest, safest way out of the door. Make sure everyone knows their route.

Also include an emergency communications plan that lays out exactly who to contact in case of an emergency. We then recommend that the entire family or inhabitants practice all of this twice a year.

Should a fire and smoke event occur you need to GET OUT, STAY OUT, and CALL FOR HELP. Never ever go back inside for anything or anyone. If you make it out, you can do much more by ensuring others, help is on the way. Reentering a home on fire can confuse everyone inside of where each other are. It’s also possible the layout of the home will have changed in those few minutes as the fire builds. It might sound like a callous or uncaring thing to do, but it’s the best thing you can do to help everyone involved.

Why Choose ESI for All Your Security Alarm Needs

We also recommend that you keep flammable items 3 feet away from any heat sources, especially space heaters. Since smoking is the leading cause of residential fire deaths in the United States always take precautions. Try smoking outside only. Never smoke in bed or when you feel drowsy or are medicated. Never around anyone in the home is using oxygen. Always talk to children about the dangers of fire, smoke matches, and lighters. Keep these items out of reach of small children. Don’t forget to turn portable heaters off when you aren’t in the room or are asleep. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Avoid overloading outlets with extension cords.

Do these things and you can prevent fires from breaking out in the first place.

If you are ready to make your home fire safe Give ESI a call to see what we can do for you, whether it’s installing monitoring services, recharging extinguishers, creating a fire safety plan or hard-wiring smoke detectors throughout your home. Give us a call at 904-388-3975 and speak to one of our residential safety technicians today…..we’re here to help!