Fire safety in the midst of a Covid-19 lockdown is often overlooked.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, recent statistics show that the fire incident rate on commercial buildings is down, but surprisingly, residential fires are up. This is because all non-essential workers have been sent home- leaving commercial buildings unoccupied. Now, people are finding that staying at home is an incredibly dull experience, and this leads to recklessness (A.K.A. more residential Fires).
Home Fire Safety System Importance
The two major reasons for increased fire incidents during the Pandemic boil down to two main causes. The first, is that people play dangerously out of boredom, and the second is the reduction in a sense of endangerment due to isolation. Whichever it is, more and more people are placed in unwanted situations, including fire incidents, and most homes are not equipped with a sprinkler system, unlike commercial buildings.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NPFA), more people need to be aware of fire safety quality in their house. Since coronavirus cases are increasing, and the last thing you want is losing your home, simply because you do not have fire safety features in your home.
Christmas is the most awaited and the closest event before 2020 ends. Despite its jolly image, Christmas can be deadly if your fire safety is not prioritized. To put this in to perspective, from the year 2014 to 2018, the U.S Fire Department responded to at least 160 burning house accidents with unwanted casualties: 10 million loss in property, a minimum of 2 deaths, and 14 injuries.
Some people think fire safety is not a big deal, so long as they are careful. As we have seen, this is not entirely true. Even if you are careful, there is no guarantee your family members or neighbors are as cautious as you are. A mother from Arizona found out the hard way when her toddler played with a lighter, and by the time she realized it was too late.
Speaking of Arizona, residents of the State should consider another factor that influences the risk of fire- and it has nothing to do with safety you, your family members, or neighbors take. CNN reported on June 19th, 2020, that wildfires from extreme heat in AZ have dramatically affected nearby cities. Imagine what would happen if you did not hear the warning, and your fire system fails during the blaze!
Understanding Home Fire Safety System
You now have a basic understanding of how important fire safety is for you and your treasured assets. The next step to ensure safer living is understanding how home fire safety systems work.
A Fire Safety System protects against fire by acknowledging the incident, signaling the officials, suppressing the blaze, and buying you time to evacuate.
The first safety step is acknowledging the incident. Fire creates heat that is hotter than what our body and most material can handle. Thus, fire safety systems depend on heat to determine the location of ignition before it leads to a bigger blaze.
Suppressing the blaze and alerting the firefighters only happens when an ignition event occurs. Fire sprinklers, fire alarm, and evacuation routes are the most crucial element in this step. Fire sprinkles and an effective exit route are required for you to escape safely before the fire reached you. Meanwhile, a fire alarm is signaling firefighters to come and extinguish the blaze.
Home Fire Safety System CheckList
Quarantine means having more time or ability to prepare your home for possible disastrous events. It is a perfect moment to take a step back, and make sure you are ready if any incident. Here are the 4 points you should check to improve the fire safety system in your home:
1. Hazard Awareness
You might think your house is safe. The truth is, fire hazards are spread all over the your home. Your kitchen, heater, electrical, or lightning distribution, and even toys are either a fire starter or a fire escalator.
Take cooking as an example. Do you know that 44% of home fires are caused by someone who wanted a nice home-cooked meal?
The kitchen is filled with highly flammable ingredients. Even an unnoticeable kitchen element like grease is a fire hazard.
Pay attention to everything in the house. Check your bedroom, kitchen, guest room, bathroom, basement, every single room. Make sure you are fully aware of what hazards in your house can cause a fire.
2. Equipment
You should have at least one fire alarm, sprinkler, and extinguisher in your home. A smaller home like a regular 903 square foot apartment might not need many. However, if you live in a bigger house such as a mansion, you will need the equipment installed in every room.
3. Escape Plan
One thing that most people forget when it comes to their fire system is an escape plan. Familiarize yourself with your home layout. Ask yourself, “What does the evacuation route look like, how fast can we leave, and should I call?” You must be sure to know what the answers are to these questions, in order to be safest.
Determining the route and escape duration is easy. If you live on an apartment’s top floor, where escaping fire can be challenging, it may require a bit more foresight. The good news is, practicing your escape plan with family can be a fun activity during the lockdown.
In case you have not figured out who you should call, call 911. Firefighters will still be notified by your fire system automatically, but it never hurts to notify 911 as a back up plan.
4. Inspecting the System
You have equipment installed already, everyone in your home is aware of home fire hazards, and you have familiarized everyone on an escape plans. Great! Now, onto the last major safety checklist item: Inspection.
The reason inspection is highly recommended is because oftentimes, people do not notice their system is not effective until the actual incident. For example, panicked apartment residents have to use stairs to escape flame, but the emergency lighting does not work. It can lead to awful decisions such as staying in place or pushing one another on the stairs.
Fire system issues might be due to equipment depreciating, external factors that hinder the system, and many more. You will never know until you have your system checked.
Hiring a professional fire protection system inspection is way better than doing it yourself. Unless you have vast knowledge in it, trying to figure out what might go wrong with your system is incredibly difficult.
If you live in Arizona, Certiprofire is a recommended fire protection and system service. Certi Profire is certified to both inspect and install the equipment required to keep your family safe. Not only does the company deliver professional results, but CertiPro Fire also complies with Covid-19 policy.
All CertiPro Fire teams use safety procedures and ensure they receive permission before entering a building. To have a CertiPro professional check your home’s fire safety system, simply call 480.829.7600 or fill out our contact form. Get you and your family safe today!