Are You Ready If Your House Catches Fire?
Smoke Detectors
The first order of business is to *know* when a fire starts. You can’t do anything if you sleep until the fire gets you, or if you’re in another room and can’t see or hear a fire getting out of hand until it’s too late. You need to be alerted when there’s a problem. How many smoke detectors are in your home? If you don’t have one in EVERY room, get out some paper, because you need to start making a shopping list.
Every single room in your home should have a smoke detector: kitchens, living/family rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, even bathrooms. Yes, the bathroom, too! A curling iron someone forgot to unplug, a light fixture that developed a fault and sparked; fires do happen in bathrooms. Don’t forget the garage (attached or not), the screened-in porch, and the attic.
Hard-wired or battery-powered?
Smoke detectors come in two versions. One is wired directly into the walls of the house, drawing power from your house current, and the other uses batteries. The biggest perk of hard-wired smoke detectors is that you never have to remember to change the batteries. The big drawback is that they stop working if the power fails. So, your highest risk time (power outage and you get out the candles) is the time you’re completely unprotected with a hard-wired detector.
I recommend the battery powered smoke detectors, and a DILIGENT pattern of battery checking and replacing. Smoke detector batteries should be changed twice a year. The easiest way to remember is to do it when you change the clocks back and forth for Daylight Savings Time. Mount your room clock right night to the smoke detector for an extra reminder! Push the ‘Test’ button every week. Make it a habit. Do it the night you do bills, or right before some other weekly ritual that you’ll remember.
Fire Extinguishers
Where do you think you should put these? If you guessed ‘every room’ – you’re right! You DON’T want to be running through the house searching for a fire extinguisher after you’ve discovered your house is on fire! They need to be *handy*, no matter where in the house you are. And you can’t have too many! (You can, however, have too few, and that’s tragic.)
A-B-C
Most fire extinguisher come in a standard ‘A-B-C’ variety that fights most any kind of likely house fire. (A, B, and C are different classes of fires, determined by what exactly is burning.) If you have a lot of chemicals (job or hobby related) in your garage or workshop, you may need a specialty extinguisher meant for chemical fires. In the kitchen, you’ll probably want one meant for grease/oil emergencies. The rest of the house can generally take A-B-C fire extinguishers.
Where Do You Put All These?
Smoke detectors go at the top and bottom of staircases, just above the doorway INSIDE each bedroom and bathroom, about a yard away from the stove (along the wall above it, 5-6 inches from the ceiling), and wherever air currents and tilted ceilings would lead smoke in any other rooms. (Light a candle, blow it out, and watch where the smoke drifts.)
Fire extinguishers go IN PLAIN SIGHT. Don’t hide them in closets! You don’t want guests (or babysitters!) having to hunt for them during an emergency. Mount them 4-5 feet above the floor, and make sure they’re not blocked by furniture, or behind the swing of a door. Remember that there is a gauge on the front of each one, and you’ll need to get in the habit on glancing at it when you walk by, to reassure yourself that they have a full charge at all times.
Where Do I Buy This Stuff?
You can find smoke detectors and fire extinguishers at home improvement stores, (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) or at your local discount stores (Walmart, Target, etc.). If you have any trouble finding and/or installing what you need, drop in at your local Fire Department and ask for help. They won’t mind you stopping by the station. It might keep them from ever having to come to your house.
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