Health and Safety Articles

Basic home fire safety: Everything you should know

April 3, 2019

536

300x250

Basic home fire safety covers both fire preventive measures and emergency measures that should be adopted against fire emergencies.

House fires are caused majorly by faulty electrical appliances, open fires, heaters, unattended cooking, etc.

I will divide the basic home fire safety tips into two (2) areas:

Large Rectangular

Preventive measures
Emergency measures

At the end of this article, you will be fully aware of all the preventive and emergency measures necessary to combat fire.

Fire emergency preventive measures

Here are things to do to prevent fire emergencies in our homes:

Install adequate number of suitable smoke alarms, and test them regularly to keep them in a workable state.
Never leave cooking or any other open flames unattended.
Never smoke in bed, and take extra care if consuming alcohol whilst smoking.
Don’t overload power points.
Switch off appliances when not in use.
Always keep lighters and matches away from children and educate them that they are “tools not toys” to only be used by responsible adults.
Do not stored flammable chemicals and other fuels where they could be exposed to open flames.
Ensure safety in the use of gas cylinders
If you live in a bush fire prone area, keep the ground around your home clear of leaves and other litters and remember to clean your gutters regularly.
Replace faulty or worn-out electrical appliances.
If you need extra power outlets, talk to an electrician about having them installed. Avoid using power boards or double adaptors.
Make sure you have a Fire-fighting and fire safety equipment at home, know how to use them and maintain them regularly.
Practise home escape plan with your children and family. Choose a meeting place outside the house and make sure everyone knows to meet there.
Practise the ‘stop, drop, cover and roll’ drill in case children’s clothes catch fire.
Practise the ‘crawl down low and go, go, go’ escape drill for crawling under smoke and poisonous gases.
Make sure you have two exits from every room in the house.
Teach children what smoke alarms sounds like and what to do when they hear one.
Ensure that all household members knows two ways to escape from every room of your home and knows the family meeting spot outside of your home.
Establish a family emergency communications plan and ensure that all household members know who to contact if they cannot find one another.

Read Also: Fire safety for preschoolers

Fire emergency safety measures

This involves action and composure needed during fire emergency:

Do not panic
Never underestimate the danger of being exposed to smoke
Never use water to put out an oil, electrical or fat fire.
After leaving the building, never get back in to recover any item.
Call emergency number.
In an actual fire, you shouldn’t walk into any room without touching the doorknobs first. If it is hot, it’s probably not safe to enter.
Never try to attack the fire if not trained to.
If the fire grows to an inferno, the best option is to evacuate the building.
Never take an elevator during a fire, since you could become trapped or suffer a fall if the elevator fails or gives out. Always use the stairs or fire escape instead of an elevator.