Celebrating Fire Safety Month 

October is National Fire Safety Month. As children, we probably all remember practicing fire drills in school and having a firefighter visit our classrooms to tell us all the ways that we can be safe at home. As adults, sometimes it’s a good idea to have a quick refresher on these things for our home and business. It’s been a while since we have seen the inside of a classroom, so here goes it…

Fire safety should be second nature to families and businesses across the nation. Unfortunately, with the hectic lives we all live and the unprecedented times we are living in currently, fire safety sometimes falls to the wayside. Here are a few tips that can help your family celebrate fire safety month in some simple, but powerful ways. 

#1 Check All Smoke Detectors

One of the more important, and often overlooked, items in a home or business are the smoke detectors. Make sure at least twice a year that these are clean and working properly. All it takes is a few minutes to press the button and confirm that they are, indeed, operational. Many homeowners and business professionals choose the weekends of daylight savings to complete this task. 

#2 Maintain Fire Extinguishers 

How long have you had the fire extinguisher in your kitchen or closet? If it’s been more than a decade, it may be time to invest in a new one. Although these extinguishers, which are vital to have in the kitchen and throughout the house, have no true “expiration date.” Traditional fire extinguishers generally have a 10-12 year life expectancy. Disposable fire extinguishers should be replaced every 12 years. 

#3 Eliminate Clutter and Maintain Exits 

Think about all the ways you can exit your home or business. Are they all cleared of clutter? Is the bulkhead working properly enough to give you and your family another way to exit the home in case fire or smoke is blocking the other exits? What about the office? Does your workplace have a back door that has boxes piled up in front of it? 

One simple thing you can do this month is clean and declutter the pathways to your exits. This will ensure that there are many options for egress should a fire break out. 

#4 Practice a Fire Drill 

Whether you are doing this for your family or workplace, we suggest that you have a meeting with all family members or employees to discuss the plan should a fire occur. Discuss a meeting place and what you should and should not do in the case that smoke begins pouring in. Then, once everyone is on board, practice the drill. 

#5 Check Your Chemicals

Do you have paints, cleaning supplies, and other combustible materials in your home or office? Take this month to clean out these areas and make sure that everything is adequately stirred away from a heat source and that covers are being used. 

Does your house need an updated fire and carbon monoxide alerting system with 24/7 monitoring? Talk to our specialists at Instant Alarm and we can evaluate your home to determine what the best system could be for your home or office.