Home Essentials for Fire Protection

If you have thus far been spared the tragedy of having a fire in your home, then it might be difficult for you to truly comprehend the devastation that a family must go through who has had their home destroyed by a fire. The home can be a total loss as well as anything that was in it. Cherished memories and belongings all go up in smoke and many times there is nothing left but ashes and the charred remains of what used to be the hub of their lives.

Many times these destructive home fires are unavoidable when something electrical shorts out or lightening strikes a house and starts a blaze that no one saw coming. Then there are other fires that could have probably have been totally preventable if the home owner had the simple tools necessary to alert them to a fire or put out a blaze before it got out of hand.

If you are not at home when a fire starts there used to be little that could be done until a neighbor spots the flames or smoke and calls the fire department. Today there are home alert systems that can help to notify the fire department or police for you automatically through a monitoring service. Having this kind of system in place can mean the difference in saving your home or not when you are not even there.

The two old standbys that are extremely essential for home fire protection are the smoke alarm and the fire extinguisher. The smoke alarm is something that people should have several of scattered throughout the home. This will better help to detect smoke from any area of the home quicker than if you only have one. The biggest mistakes are not having smoke detectors or simply not keeping fresh batteries in them. You should always check the alarms periodically to make sure they are working correctly.

Fire extinguishers should be kept in a kitchen at all times since so many fires start there. You should have an extinguisher that is large enough to put out a good size blaze if necessary. Many fires in kitchens can be started with grease and this can be more difficult to put out. Just remember that if a blaze gets out of control, do not place your self in danger trying to put it out. Sometimes it is better to get out of the home and wait for the fire department as hard as that might be.