USI Smoke & Fire Alarms: Protection From the Second Leading Cause of Home Fires
What's now being regarded as a preventable tragedy, a heating fire was named the main culprit behind a devastating fire in the Twin Parks Apartments in the Bronx last winter. The fire was responsible for taking 17 lives with 8 of those being children. The fire would later be determined to be started by the use of space heaters. These are awful stories that destroy lives and resonate throughout communities for years. If you were to enter the search term “home fires” in your internet browser, you'd be met with a daily tragedy or near fatal incident that occurs far too often in the United States. Smoke and fire protection is something that can't be overlooked. To better understand the severity of this danger, we have to identify the different types of fires that occur in the home.
Heating Fires Are The Second Leading Cause of Home Fires
They're not talked about nearly as much as the previous two types, but heating fires account for a large percentage of fire incidents every year. One of the primary causes for heating fires is a reliance on portable heating equipment, especially in the winter. Think of a space heater and you'll have the right idea. While they're an incredible means of introducing steady and transferable heat, portable heaters also carry an inherent risk when being placed too close to an object that can burn. Portable heaters setup near clothing, bedding, upholstered furniture and other flammable objects can be dangerous. The NFPA reported the following information when addressing home heating fires.
Heating is the second leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths. Local fire departments responded to an estimated average of 48,530 fires involving heating equipment per year in 2014-2018, accounting for 14% of all reported home fires during this time. These fires resulted in annual losses of 500 civilian deaths, 1,350 civilian injuries, and $1.1 billion in direct property damage.1
A functioning smoke detector remains the best defense in handling a heating fire. However, there are a few steps that can be taken to lessen the likelihood of one occurring. You should start by turning off your portable heating devices when you're asleep. We know it may be tempting to leave them on during winter or particularly cold nights, but it's really a risk that should best be avoided. You should also make sure that any of the flammable objects we mentioned before are not anywhere near the heater while it's operating.
Smoking and Candle Fires are the final two types. They're both unsafe for obvious reasons as a still lit cigarette or candle can quickly evolve into something much more dangerous. It sounds redundant, but the best approach to handling every type of fire is equipping your home with a series of smoke alarms. You can't predict when or what type of fire will occur, but you can make sure that you and everyone around are properly alerted to its presence. Install smoke and fire detectors throughout your home for the best results.
* National Fire Protection Association
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