How to Perform a Home Safety Audit
How to Perform a Home Safety Audit – Smoke Alarms
The first thing you should do during your home safety audit is to ensure that each room on each level of your house is equipped with a smoke alarm. A room without a smoke alarm could easily house a fire that isn’t discovered until it is too late, and a smoke alarm is a great step to take to keep your family safe, and should definitely be your first step in your home safety audit.
How to Perform a Home Safety Audit – Carbon Monoxide
The second thing you should check for in your home safety audit is carbon monoxide detectors. Not so prevalent in the past, carbon monoxide is quickly elevating in threat level. If you have a basement, it is almost essential that you install a carbon monoxide detector there, and no home safety audit should be complete without ensuring that these are in place. Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill someone in as little as fifteen minutes.
How to Perform a Home Safety Audit – Batteries
The next step you should take during your home safety audit is to check the batteries on all emergency gear and equipment. Flashlights, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and any other items you have around your home that runs off of batteries. It can be a life and death difference if your smoke alarms have dead batteries, and imagine spending a night in a flood with no flashlights! This is an essential part of any home safety audit.
How to Perform a Home Safety Audit – Fire Extinguisher
Every home should have at least one fire extinguisher. They aren’t as expensive as you might expect and usually run between twenty and thirty dollars. There’s no reason not to have one handy, as they can mean the difference between a little fire damage in one room, and losing your home. Even with insurance checks and everything else, most of the items that you will lose are very irreplaceable.
How to Perform a Home Safety Audit – Education
The most important step you should take during your home safety audit is to educate your family. There is no reason not to make sure that everyone in the family knows how to operate the fire extinguisher. Also, your family should plan out emergency plans and escape routes for all different kinds of emergencies and disasters. This is vital to any home safety audit!
