The damage caused to homes and other property by wildfires every year is extensive, but if you are planning on building a home in a rural area where these fires are a risk, there are a few different things that you can do to help minimize the damage to your home.
Fireproof materials are what should be used in the construction of your new home and the surface of your home that presents the most amount of risk is the roof, because it has the largest amount of surface area of any part of the exterior. Your roof needs to be made of metal, tile, or fiberglass, never oil-based materials like asphalt shingles. Wooden shingles are also a very bad idea. These catch on fire pretty easily and when a wildfire is nearby, small sparks are carried on the wind and will land on your roof, causing it to catch on fire.
You also need to use materials for the exterior of the house like brick, stone, and metal, since these will offer the greatest amount of protection. Vinyl and wood siding will give you very little protection against the elements.
The windows that you have in your home are also going to be very important, since when the windows burst, it will allow the wind and firebrands into the house and everything inside will catch on fire. You should either have small windows or multi-pane windows, because large single pane windows will radiate a lot more heat.
Any trees that are close to your home should be cut down, since having this kind of vegetation near your home in a wildfire prone area is a serious risk. You should also not allow dead organic material like cut grass or dead leaves to pile up anywhere near your house. Keep these things cleared well away from the home as much as possible, but if you have neglected to do this and you have to evacuate your home because a fire is nearby, the best thing you can do is take your garden hose and soak them and the rest of the yard with water. Wetting the roof and the rest of the exterior of your home is also a good idea when a wildfire is nearby and will neutralize the threat of firebrands.
If you do choose to evacuate your home or are made to by local law enforcement, you should only take the most important things with you. Depending on how much time you are given or feel like you have, you can load up whatever valuables you need to in your vehicle, but if you are pressed for time, take money, jewelry, valuables, and etcetera.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Guaranteed To Prevent House Fires
Even though house fires claim a great many lives around the world and cause billions of dollars in damage to property, there are a lot of things that you can do to reduce the risk that your home or business will catch on fire. Following a few basic guidelines will do this, as long as you make sure the rest of your home follows them, as well.
Store everything that is labeled as flammable outside the house, preferably in a shed of some kind. This includes items like turpentine, gas, paint thinner, propane, and etcetera. The further away from your home these items are, the better.
You should never clean anything with gas or turpentine in your house. Fumes of a lot of flammable chemicals like this are heavier than air and will settle to the floor. All it takes is one spark from a wall outlet and the whole house will go up in flames.
Any time you do work in the garage or outside and you have rags or paper towels that become soaked with flammable chemicals, you should never throw them in the garbage along with other paper materials. The gas needs to evaporate from these items, not insulate so that it becomes heated.
The space heaters in your home that you use in the winter to keep warm should never be placed near combustible materials. This is one of the worst mistakes you can make, along with leaving the home while the heaters are in operation. You should also never use space heaters to dry wet clothes, even a small pair of socks or mittens.
Appliances like space heaters that emit a lot of heat should never be used with extension cords that are not considered heavy duty. A heavy duty cord that is at least a 14 gauge should be used with these or else the cord will melt.
Extension cords should also never be run underneath a rug or carpet, since this will insulate the heat emitted by the cord.
Your smoke detectors should be tested regularly and the batteries replaced.
Finally, most house fires start within the kitchen, even though a large number of them go unreported simply because they did not do any damage extensive enough to warrant an insurance claim. Never leave anything you are cooking unattended.
Store everything that is labeled as flammable outside the house, preferably in a shed of some kind. This includes items like turpentine, gas, paint thinner, propane, and etcetera. The further away from your home these items are, the better.
You should never clean anything with gas or turpentine in your house. Fumes of a lot of flammable chemicals like this are heavier than air and will settle to the floor. All it takes is one spark from a wall outlet and the whole house will go up in flames.
Any time you do work in the garage or outside and you have rags or paper towels that become soaked with flammable chemicals, you should never throw them in the garbage along with other paper materials. The gas needs to evaporate from these items, not insulate so that it becomes heated.
The space heaters in your home that you use in the winter to keep warm should never be placed near combustible materials. This is one of the worst mistakes you can make, along with leaving the home while the heaters are in operation. You should also never use space heaters to dry wet clothes, even a small pair of socks or mittens.
Appliances like space heaters that emit a lot of heat should never be used with extension cords that are not considered heavy duty. A heavy duty cord that is at least a 14 gauge should be used with these or else the cord will melt.
Extension cords should also never be run underneath a rug or carpet, since this will insulate the heat emitted by the cord.
Your smoke detectors should be tested regularly and the batteries replaced.
Finally, most house fires start within the kitchen, even though a large number of them go unreported simply because they did not do any damage extensive enough to warrant an insurance claim. Never leave anything you are cooking unattended.
Here’s How To Prevent House Fires
There are a large number of house fires every year in this country and around the world, but the damage that they do to homes and families can largely be avoided if you follow a few simple guidelines. These will greatly reduce the amount of risk that your home will catch on fire as long as you are consistent with enforcing them.
The first thing that you need to do is know that most fires start in the kitchen. The largest reason for this is that many people leave things cooking on the stove so they can go to another room of the house and take care of another chore, watch tv, or even leave the house to run an errand. You should never, ever leave your home while something is on the stove unless someone is still there to watch it for you while you are gone. Even clothes dryers need to be turned off if you are planning on leaving the house.
Rags and paper towels soaked with gasoline should never be tossed in the garbage with other combustible items. These items should be laid out flat outside somewhere so the gas will evaporate. Do this somewhere away from heat.
If you clean anything with turpentine or gas, please do it outside. The fumes from both of these items are heavier than air and will sink to the floor. Sparks from electronic items or wall outlets will ignite the fumes, possibly resulting in an explosion.
Space heaters should never be used near combustible items and if you have to use a heater on a carpeted surface, the heat should be emitted from a portion of the heater that is up and away from the floor. Space heaters with short legs that sit low to the floor should not be used on carpet at all. You should also not use these appliances to dry wet items of clothing, even if you are sitting there watching them.
Your chimney needs to be cleaned out every year and the creosote build-up removed. Creosote is a result of burning wood in your fireplace, coats the inside of the chimney, and is extremely flammable.
You should have at least one 5 pound fire extinguisher. If your house only has one floor, the best place for it is in the kitchen and if your home has more than one floor, there should be one on the other floors, as well. This makes sure that the fire does not get out of control while you run to the other end of the house to get the fire extinguisher.
The first thing that you need to do is know that most fires start in the kitchen. The largest reason for this is that many people leave things cooking on the stove so they can go to another room of the house and take care of another chore, watch tv, or even leave the house to run an errand. You should never, ever leave your home while something is on the stove unless someone is still there to watch it for you while you are gone. Even clothes dryers need to be turned off if you are planning on leaving the house.
Rags and paper towels soaked with gasoline should never be tossed in the garbage with other combustible items. These items should be laid out flat outside somewhere so the gas will evaporate. Do this somewhere away from heat.
If you clean anything with turpentine or gas, please do it outside. The fumes from both of these items are heavier than air and will sink to the floor. Sparks from electronic items or wall outlets will ignite the fumes, possibly resulting in an explosion.
Space heaters should never be used near combustible items and if you have to use a heater on a carpeted surface, the heat should be emitted from a portion of the heater that is up and away from the floor. Space heaters with short legs that sit low to the floor should not be used on carpet at all. You should also not use these appliances to dry wet items of clothing, even if you are sitting there watching them.
Your chimney needs to be cleaned out every year and the creosote build-up removed. Creosote is a result of burning wood in your fireplace, coats the inside of the chimney, and is extremely flammable.
You should have at least one 5 pound fire extinguisher. If your house only has one floor, the best place for it is in the kitchen and if your home has more than one floor, there should be one on the other floors, as well. This makes sure that the fire does not get out of control while you run to the other end of the house to get the fire extinguisher.
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