Precautions to Help Prevent Home Fire Damage
January 5, 2024
Damaged House Parts Caused by Water
January 8, 2024
Common Causes of Residential Fires
Your home may be at risk!
Did you know that the are many objects in your home that can be a fire hazard for you and your family?
Find out the most common causes of a residential fire that can reduce your hard-earned wealth in ashes in just seconds.
Prevent the risks before they happen!
Heating
Heat sources during the winter can start a fire if they contact items such as curtains, carpets, and wallpaper
Room Heaters
These are the leading source of residential fires in the USA. Between 2012-2016 a total of 52,050 fires were reported, so they should require special attention while they are active. It is highly recommended that curtains or combustible elements be safe from the heater. In addition, in the case of electric heaters, you should ensure they have a shut-off mechanism to prevent overheating.
In these cases, fireplaces are recommended to use a protector that prevents sparks from the embers from starting a fire.
Clothes Dryer
These are a frequent cause of calls to the fire department due to the internal mechanism of these devices, which extracts water from the fabrics, converts them into steam, and expels them through a duct. However, cotton lint can clog the vent and prevent the dryer from removing the heat, causing a residential fire.
Cooking
This is the area within the home with the highest fire risk, mainly due to misuse of appliances.
Stoves
They are a significant cause of electrical fires. Because this type of heater is portable, people often place them very close to combustible surfaces such as curtains, beds, carpets. The heaters' heating elements are hazardous in this regard because they get so hot that they almost instantly ignite any nearby flammable surface.
Oven
In the case of electric ovens, overheating or lack of maintenance can increase fire danger. In most cases, the misuse of this equipment starts the fire when people decide to use them as heaters.
Toasters
These household appliances can explode due to electrical overheating when the user leaves them on for long periods without supervision. In addition, a spill of water on it can lead to a short circuit and start a fire.
Grill
Lack of cleanliness, improper use, or malfunction of these appliances can cause a fire inside your home. In addition, whether it is a gas grill, embers, or electric, they run the risk of combustion by the grease of the food.
Smoking at Home
Cigarettes
Fires caused by smoking often start because the cigarette butt is not extinguished. Carelessness: in many cases, the person falls asleep with a lit cigarette or does not use an ashtray.
Candles
Decorative/Holiday:
Many homes have been destroyed as a result of candles during the holidays. They look harmless in principle, but they can send out tiny sparks and make contact with other items such as curtains, a sofa, or cushions, and disaster is imminent.
Aroma/Scented:
Even a tiny candle flame can have destructive consequences. Many residential fires are often started due to air currents that lead to fire to combustible products.
Chemical
Storing combustibles and flammable liquids inside the home must be done with caution to prevent a fire from starting. So it is because a slight carelessness in their handling can cause great destruction.
Propane
A propane gas leak is not perceptible by the human sense of smell. Its mixture with the air at certain levels and in contact with a spark, can cause a residential fire—the larger the enclosure or room where the propane enters, the greater the explosion maybe.
Gasoline
The cans stored inside the garage can be a high risk if not adequately secured to prevent spills since a small drop of gasoline is enough to generate a large fire.
Paints
These products include benzene, ether, and propane, which are flammable. In addition to being a petroleum derivative, they generate volatile gases that accumulate in the garage.
Cleaning Liquids
They include flammable and non-flammable components such as ammonia, ethylene glycol, acetate, sodium hypochlorite, and trisodium phosphate. If they spill and come into contact with fire, there is a high fire danger.
Adhesives
They are chemical compounds that release gases that accumulate in the home environment and create an explosive atmosphere. They include flammable materials such as polyurethane or epoxy resins.
Electrical
According to the U.S. Fire Administration. (USFA), it is one of the leading causes of fire, with about 28,600 cases reported yearly.
Faulty Wiring
Most electrical fires are generated by faulty wiring or outlets in old appliances in homes more than 20 years old. In other cases, it may be the misuse of extension cords; it is recommended to connect devices directly to outlets and not to extension cords, regardless of the time.
Loose Plugs
Any electrical installation that is more than 30 years old becomes dangerous if it has not been subjected to any revision. The passage of time degrades the electrical installation materials: the insulating layer hardens and breaks, the joints deteriorate, and the fire danger and electrocution increases.
Improper Grounding
Likewise, electrical fires can also arise due to the cutting of the outlet grounding of the sockets for it to be used in a two-input socket. The reason why appliances with plugs with an extra outlet are only plugged into three-prong outlets is that in an overvoltage or short circuit, this high current will be absorbed by the grounding well.
Appliances Lighting
Light fixtures, lamps, and bulbs are another common cause of electrical fires.
Lighting
The installation of a light bulb with too high a wattage for lamps and light fixtures is the leading cause of electrical fires.
Overheating Appliances
Overheating bulbs, wires, wiring, appliances, and blown fuses can start a fire in seconds.
Weather Conditions
Wildfires
In California, this becomes a cause of residential fires because of the type of soil, dry vegetation, and weather conditions in the area during the summer. It allows the fire to spread freely without control or pre-established limits, destroying living or dead foliage and nearby buildings.
Lightning
During the rainy season, thunderstorms become a fire danger for the inhabitants of the State of California since they can impact the house's roof or a dry tree in the garden and cause flames
Don’t be another fire statistic! It is essential to be aware of the most common causes of domestic fire. Also, remember that many fires are caused by homeowner error.
Make your home a safe space!
