Home Fire Safety and Prevention Tips

This is the most important part of any safety plan, as these are your first defense against a fire or a carbon monoxide leak. Once they’re installed, remember to check the batteries twice a year and replace them as needed.

Helpful Tips

Consider using alarms powered by lithium batteries, which can last up to 10 years. After 10 years, it’s also time to replace your smoke alarm.

An easy way to remember to check detector batteries is to test them when daylight saving time starts and ends.

Be sure to mount the devices inside bedrooms or in adjacent hallways. Smoke detectors should be installed high on the wall, preferably on the ceiling, because smoke always rises.

If attaching an alarm to a wall, mount it six to 12 inches from the ceiling. For a ceiling mount, install the alarm about four inches from the wall.

Most battery-powered smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are easy to install using a power drill, a screwdriver and a ladder. Measure the distance between the screw-holes on the detector and then place the detector where you want to install it. Make a small mark on the wall on the outside edge of the detector as a guide and then mark where the screw holes will be. Drill holes in the ceiling where you’ve marked and then mount the smoke detector using a screwdriver.

Safety Alert!

Don’t install smoke detectors near windows or outside doors. If there is a fire, smoke might slip through one of these openings and not set off the alarm.

Helpful Tip

Don’t install smoke detectors in kitchens, bathrooms or living rooms. Steam from cooking or hot showers, as well as smoke from fireplaces and candles, can set off alarms unnecessarily.

Carbon monoxide detectors that are not part of a combination smoke alarm unit should be installed lower to the floor because carbon monoxide is heavier than air. Many are plug-in units that can be plugged into any wall socket. If you want to install smoke/carbon monoxide detectors that are hard-wired to your electrical system, consult a certified electrician or have it professionally mounted.

A fireplace is a cozy way to warm up a room, but it’s important to keep up with its maintenance. Make sure yours is properly vented to the outside and inspect it for any leaks in the exhaust pipe. Clean your chimney regularly with chimney rods and brushes designed for chimney sweeping or hire a professional for annual cleaning.

Don’t burn anything other than natural wood and never leave a fire unattended under any circumstances. Be sure children understand fireplace safety and monitor them and your pets at all times around a burning fireplace.

Check your appliances for worn plugs or cracked wires. Do not attempt to make your own repairs unless you are skilled at it. Electrical repairs are best left to the professionals. Unplug appliances when they are not in use.

Never use electrical appliances near water or close to faucets or water pipes. Do not use any electrical appliances, including hair dryers and stereos, while bathing or washing dishes. If an appliance falls into water, unplug it before you retrieve it!

Make sure you’re not using oversized fuses or circuit breakers anywhere in your house; doing so does not allow the circuit to hold more or enhance the performance of appliances. In fact, this may actually cause overheating and lowered efficiency.

Always remove extension cords by the plug, not by tugging on the cord. Never break the ground prong of a three-prong plug to make it fit into a two-prong outlet. Instead, use an adapter.

A few simple precautions, and you and your family are better prepared and more knowledgeable about fire safety and prevention.