Don’t Let Your Family Become A Statistic Get A Smoke Alarm Fitted Now

Frequency

Given the abundance of affordable smoke detection systems, such as smoke alarms, the unfortunate deaths that are caused by house fires is completely unnecessary. It’s a tragedy that, in just the US, two people are killed by a house fire every five hours. Indeed, in the US, a new house fire starts every 1.5 minutes which is equivalent to just under 2 million fires each year.

Fatalities

In America, 4,000 people will die, per year, in house fires. Fire will kill more people in America than all the natural disasters which strike there. An alarming fact is that most fire deaths will occur in the mere 5 percent of homes in America that do not have smoke detectors, proving that smoke detectors save lives. These statistics speak for themselves.

Origins

Cooking is the main culprit for most house fires. So is smoking. Having a fire extinguisher (not water based) is always a good idea near the kitchen. Having smoke detectors elsewhere in your home is essential too. Keep an eye on maintenance of your alarms to prevent them from chirping.

When an electrical fire is thought to be the cause, it is usually because of people doing their own electrical work with the result that the installation is not up to code. Always have a professional do electrical work in your home.

Children playing with fire is also a common cause for a house fire, and sadly about 30 percent of those children will die in the fire they started.

And of course there are the things we burn in the house. Such as cigarettes (still in some houses), the logs on a fire, and candles which we either light for effect or when the power goes down. It’s obvious, but it still happens (a lot). Make sure flames, and embers, are completely extinguished before leaving a room. And always use fire guards in fireplaces. Make sure you use fresh lights on any Christmas tree, that it is switched off at night, and that the needles on the tree do not get so dry they turn to kinder.

Fire Facts

It only takes 30 seconds for a small flame to turn into a raging fire. In 2 minutes a dark thick smoke will fill up a house. And in just a matter of 4 to 6 minutes an entire home can be completely engulfed in flames.

Since most fires will start while people are asleep, should you wake up to a fire, just get out. There will usually be no time to consider saving anything from the house. You may want to consider a fire proof box or safe to keep any important documents or valuables in case of a fire.

Another thing, heat is more dangerous to a person than flames. This heat rises exponentially, and if you are standing near the fire, the temperature can be around 600 degrees at eye level, causing your lungs to scorch and clothes to melt.

This is why you should always stay low. You might think a room on fire is bright, but it will most likely be dark from the black smoke. Staying low helps you breathe.

Survival

There is simply no getting away from it. Given the speed and the intensity of which a fire spreads then best form of survival is an early warning system. And the best early warning system is a smoke alarm (or smoke alarms). They’re also inexpensive.

Having a fire extinguisher on hand (with the correct contents for the particular situation) and having an evacuation plan can mean the difference between survival or extinction of you and your family.

Douglas Barker is fanatical about safety in your house. His brief, snappy, informative summaries are very useful indeed. yourse include hard wired smoke alarms and wireless smoke alarms. An essential read for real family protection.