10 Most Common Causes of House Fires
10 Most Common Causes of House Fires
A house fire is an unfortunate truth that many people suffer from every year, how the most common causes of house fires can help you take preventive actions and stay ready. With our helpful suggestions, you can stop a serious fire in your home!
Fire safety is essential for everyone and know how they can keep safe, their homes, forests, and workplaces. Fires can lead to not only accidents and injuries but also the bad consequences that usually accompany them: financial compensation, legal matters, reputational damages, or worse, death.
A house can easily catch fire from the wrong use of devices and heating equipment. Even just with the hot summer months, a drier climate and higher temperatures can show conditions that are reasons for fires to break out.
As a homeowner, you must make sure your house is ready to notice a fire and welcome a quick emergency response. This represents installing an alarm system and programming enough smoke and heat detectors to protect your house from fire.
You should have at least one smoke detector in your house on every floor. There should also be a smoke detector inside every bedroom, as well as inside each large central area, such as living rooms and dens. Entrance routes are also great locations for smoke detectors.
However, a smoke detector won’t stop a fire from happening. It will only alert you. So, proper protection is most important to prevent fires in your home. If you understand how most fires happen, then you can properly prevent them. Also, here are the top 10 causes of house fires.
What causes home fires?
There are 10 Most Common Causes of House Fires which are:
1. Electrical Equipment
- Electrical equipment, like a TV or toaster, can create a fire sooner than you think. All it takes is for a cable to be broken or frayed, or for the power socket to be overloaded with multiple devices. Affordable extension cables and units can also generate fires when overexposed.
- Lampshades and light fittings are also the main reasons for fires due to the build-up of heat and the closeness of globes to potentially flammable lampshades. Old lamps should always be reviewed for their requirement and to confirm all cabling is secure.
- Elevated standing lamps are also dangerous sometimes as they could be knocked over easily and have long cables that might show people tripping over them and removing the socket partially loose.
2. Candles
All candles should be kept on non-flammable surfaces or within their candle holder glasses. However, confirming that this happens doesn’t completely eradicate the risk of anything in the immediate area falling into the flames. Candles should therefore always be put out when you leave a room, especially while you are leaving the area.
Solution:
If you are housing several young tenants, such as university students, make sure that you familiarize them with this topic before they move in, as many may simply be ignorant of this issue.
3. Cooking
Deep fat fryers and pans overheating can generate a fire very easily if the person cooking is distracted and leaves cooking alone. You can’t make sure your occupants or family members stay around during food cooking, but you can confirm that no flammable things are held near your gas stove and cooker.
Solution:
If you are a landlord, you can stop people from keeping flammable items near open flames or hot appliances by including useful shelves or hooks where people can put their kitchen clothes or even clothes hooks for the door.
4. Heating
Portable heaters, especially old electric or gas ones, can easily cause a nearby item to catch fire if they’re faulty or overheat.
Solution:
Keep clothing items, laundry, curtains, and nearby textile furniture at least one meter away from these heaters. Otherwise, avoid using them in the first place.
5. Smoking
With more people spending time indoors due to social distancing measures and government lockdowns, it’s only natural that some will smoke indoors.
Solution:
Make every effort to warn people about the risks related to smoking and how to avoid half-lit cigarettes from burning objects around the house.
6. Curious Children
If there are children in your household, they might be curious about what happens if an object catches fire. A simple mistake or genuine concern may be the end for your house.
Solution:
Teach your kids fire safety at an early age and make sure they understand the consequences of playing with fire. Lead younger youngsters and make sure they are not putting your home in danger. You might even want to enroll your children in a fire-safety class at a school or with your local fire department. Make it a family activity and consider it a good learning experience for yourself as well.
7. Household Lighting
A light bulb housed inside a glass lighting fixture can start a fire if it is not set up properly. This is especially true if it is very close to a lampshade or something flammable. In addition, if you knock a lamp onto the carpet, it could catch fire easily.
Solution:
Utilize only light bulbs that satisfy the suggested wattage requirements mentioned on the lighting installation. Additionally, make every effort not to leave lights on while you are gone or asleep. Additionally, keep in mind not to put anything flammable next to your lightbulbs or lights!
8. Flammable Liquids
Many fires in the home happen due to the careless use of flammable liquids. Usually, this means fuels such as kerosene or gasoline. Still, some spilled alcohol or rubbing alcohol can catch fire when it comes into contact with an open flame.
Solution:
The most effective plan of action is to identify all flammable liquids and keep them in an appropriate place far from heat sources and open fires. Make sure everybody in the house understands that these liquids should only be used for what they are intended to be used for.
9. Barbecues and Grills:
Outdoor cooking equipment, if used too near to the house or not properly maintained, can ignite decking, siding, or other structures. Grease buildup and propane leaks are common causes of house fires.
We all like to barbeque when the weather permits. However, it’s also due to the scarcity of sun that causes people to be less aware of the dangers of making an outdoor meal on a disposable barbecue or cooking pit.
Solution:
Always place grills at least 10 feet from installations to ensure safe barbecuing, and on stable, non-combustible covers. Clean the grill regularly to stop grease buildup and review for propane leaks also. Never go a lit grill alone, and keep children and pets away. Avoid grilling in windy situations and use disposable barbecues on non-flammable surfaces, following manufacturer instructions for use and disposal. Familiarize family members and friends about these safety measures to stop house fires while enjoying outdoor cooking.
10. Christmas trees that are dry
Dry Christmas trees, especially those that are not properly hydrated, are highly flammable and provide a serious fire risk as they dry out. Their dryness makes them more prone to catching fire. The risk is significantly raised by electrical problems with Christmas lights and decorations, especially when the wiring is out-of-date broken, or overloaded. These electrical problems can result in sparks or overheating, which could set fire to the tree’s dry branches.
Solution:
It’s important to select a fresh tree with green, flexible leaves that don’t fall off easily to minimize these threats. Throughout the holiday season, make sure that it provides the tree with enough of water, paying special attention to the water level in the stand as well as maintaining it above the base of the tree. Check and replace any damaged or faulty Christmas lights and decorations regularly. When leaving the house or going to bed, always switch off the lights and shift the tree away from heat sources like radiators and fireplaces. To further limit fire hazards, immediately throw off the tree after the holidays or after it dries up. Following these security measures helps to a happy and safe Christmas season.
Bottom Line
Fire safety is essential for everyone and know how they can keep safe, their homes, forests, and workplaces. Fires can lead to not only accidents and injuries but also the bad consequences that usually accompany them: financial compensation, legal matters, reputational damages, or worse, death.
However, a smoke detector won’t stop a fire from happening. It will only alert you. So, proper protection is most important to prevent fires in your home. If you understand how most fires happen, then you can properly prevent them.