You have smoke alarms in your house, and you may even have a fire extinguisher that is properly charged. Therefore, you believe you have taken the necessary steps to ensure the safety of your home from fire.

Fire safety is one of the tasks that you must be vigilant about regarding your overall home security program. Your goal is to keep your family safe and prevent your property and belongings from being destroyed.

Start With The Obvious

Starting with the obvious is the smoke detectors. Some homes and most businesses used a wired system, which operates off of backup batteries that are constantly kept charged and immediately notifies the fire department.

Similar systems are available for homes and can be well worth the investment, especially, if the system contacts the fire department. This device is particularly helpful if no one is home when the fire starts.

Most people probably use the battery-power smoke detectors that are attached to the ceilings. The battery-powered model can be an effective method for warning occupants about fires. Sometimes, you get false alarms because something is burning in the kitchen, or too many candles are creating an excessive amount of smoke.

However, it is better to get the occasional false alarm than to get no alarm at all.

These units do not last forever. Batteries should be changed twice each year (Ref: http://www.6webs.com). You may want to replace the smoke detectors every few years. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to replace and are constantly being improved by the manufacturers. When buying smoke detectors read the package carefully in case there are any disclaimers that might make you a little uneasy. Remember, cheaper is not always better. Look first for quality and not just price.

Next you need a fire extinguisher. Most homes buy the smaller units that cannot be recharged. For most, such an extinguisher is all right. If everything goes your favor, you may never use it. If you do use it, and it becomes totally discharged, the cost of a new one is not expensive.

The important thing here is to read the directions carefully, because all fire extinguishers do not do the same thing. An extinguisher that is intended for trash fires may not work on a grease fire in the kitchen. If you have a considerable amount of computer equipment in the same room, you may want to consider a halon fire extinguisher. Halon extinguishers are considered clean extinguishers and will not damage electronic equipment if a fire is near the equipment.

The extinguishers are more expensive than other types, but the investment may be worthwhile. While your equipment may be insured by your homeowner’s policy, the data on your computer or home server is not.

Preventing Fires from Starting

There are several steps you can take to prevent a fire from ever starting in your home.

Steps to Take:

• Keep flammable liquids, such as cleaning supplies, paint thinners and other similar liquids away from potential sources of heat. Do not stack the old newspapers you are going to recycle, next to the cleaning or painting supplies.
• Check your electrical appliances for damaged plugs, frayed wires and other problems. The appliance may still work, but it could be the equivalent of a ticking time bomb.
• When cooking, do not leave items on the stove unattended. If you are using a gas stove, something that boils over could put the gas flame out, giving you the problem of leaking gas. If using an electric range, liquids that boil over could damage the stove and cause an electrical short.
• Whether you have a gas or electric clothes dryers, make certain that the vent kept free of lint and other debris. Follow all directions on washers and dryers about clothes that have been exposed to flammable liquids.

Fire Safety Does Not Stop Inside the House

In your garage, a car is parked that may have 20 gallons or more of gasoline inside it. It is time to cut the grass, but your five-gallon gas can is empty. At this point, do not think about siphoning the gasoline from the car.

Siphoning gasoline from a car is not a safe practice.

Cars are designed to make it more difficult to remove gas from the tank. There is a danger of spillage, and you can get gasoline on you. You would then need to wash your hands and clothes immediately before lighting a cigarette, which is another fire hazard to avoid.

Those Things Around The House

Everyone has some junk. It may be in the outside store room, in the attic, utility closet or somewhere else. Some of it, such as old paint or paint remover can be dangerous.

Other items, such as old clothes you are never going to wear, could burn easily in the event of a careless cigarette being tossed aside or some other incident.

Thus, just do what your mother always told you but on a larger scale. Clean your room or rooms. Get rid of the junk. Take the old clothes to the local thrift store, recycle the accumulated newspapers and keep flammable liquids away from electrical outlets, heaters and other heat sources.

A Few Final Tips

Do not smoke. If you must do not do it in bed or the recliner or anywhere else where you might fall asleep. Do not leave matches or cigarette lighters lying around where children might get them and think they would be fun to play with, when no one is looking.

Follow your local laws about outside burning, fireworks and other similar situations. You want to protect your property, your home and your family.

Take the right steps and be safe. A little effort up front will prevent much grief later in your life.