No one wants to look at the chance that they may at some point have a fire in their home. To that end, many of us do not plan ahead for the eventuality that we may have some kind of a fire.

A very small fire can grow to become a deadly fire within about 3 minutes. Once a fire starts, getting out of the fire can be very difficult. Your best option then is to ensure that fires don’t start, but also to know what to do if you do have a fire.

The reality is that while you can do your best to prevent a fire, in some cases, regardless of your care and precautions, they can take place. The best chance that you have is to ensure that if a fire does take place, that you know what to do in order to get safely away from it.

Fire Safety and Fire Prevention Tips

• Every home has some areas which are more prone to fires than others. To that end, taking steps to keep them as safe as possible are in order. Just a few tips that you can use to help you in keeping your home fire safe include:
• Always have a smoke alarm in place. There should be smoke alarms outside of each bedroom as well as in the kitchen and in the main living area. Ensure that batteries remain viable by testing your smoke alarm once a month, on the same day. Ensure they are placed where there is air flow, rather than in dead air space.

• Check extension cords. Make sure that you do not have too many which are connected to one outlet. Overloading outlets is a very dangerous problem that takes place in many homes.

• Keep your extension cords short and make sure that they don’t pass under rugs.

• Check dryers regularly in order to ensure that lint does not build up in the lint trap or in the vent hose which can be a fire hazard.
• Make it a habit to turn off the oven immediately when you are finished cooking.
• Keep anything flammable away from burners.
• Always oversee children in the kitchen and never wear loose clothing when cooking or baking.
• Teach children about matches and lighters, letting them know the harm they can do, but always have matches and flammable items up and away from the reach of young children.
• Never store flammable materials inside the home. Store them in an area which is well away from the living area. Paint thinners and other substances can be a fire waiting to happen if they are stored in a garage or basement near a source of heat or flame.
• Plan ahead for eventualities.Make an escape plan for every family member. It should detail what they would do to escape from a fire and where the family will go to meet each other to ensure that the whole family is safe.
• Instruct your family members that they are never to go back into a burning building, no matter what the provocation.
• Prepare a fire drill for your family and practice it at least twice when the family is not expecting it.

You can prevent fires in many cases by paying careful attention to detail and removing fire hazards. Even so, it is just good thinking to plan ahead and make sure that every family member knows what to do in the event of a fire to keep themselves safe.