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Tips
for preventing and surviving a house fire
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A
house fire is many people's worst nightmare,
but how can you prevent it from happening
to you? The best way to go about it is to
try to anticipate any potential problems,
and do what you can to prevent them from
occurring in your home. By doing this, you
can improve your chances of surviving a
fire, and even prevent one from happening
in the first place. Here are just some of
the things that you can do:
Install smoke alarms.
Smoke alarms can be lifesavers. In fact,
less than a fifth of all fire deaths happen
in homes with working smoke alarms. If you
do have them, it is vital that you check
that they are working at least once a month,
and change the batteries twice a year.
Use fire extinguishers.
Ideally, you would have at least a multipurpose
fire extinguisher on every floor of your
house. It is important that everyone in
your household knows where the extinguisher
is and how to use it. Inspect it at the
same time that you check your smoke alarm,
and avoid any unnecessary use.
Keep fuel away
from your house. If you have
any dry foliage around your house, remove
it, as it can be flammable and make exiting
your house in a fire more treacherous. Also
keep any gas tanks, firewood, and other
fuels at least 10 feet away from your house.
Cut out the clutter.
Stacks of papers, boxes, and piles of linen
can act like kindling during a house fire.
By keeping everything neat and tidy, you
can reduce the flammability of your house.
Get insured.
It is a very good idea to have a home insurance
policy in place in case anything does happen
to your home. While this can be expensive,
it is not nearly as expensive as having
to pay for repairs to your home and replacements
for all your items when your home goes up
in smoke. You can save a lot of money by
shopping around online for the best deals.
For instance, Kwik
Fit Insurance offer
customers a £60 discount for purchasing
their home insurance online rather than
over the phone. Visit their website for
more information on house
insurance.
Take care with
your heaters. Have all your gas
burning appliances checked by a Gas Safe
engineer on an annual basis, as leaks and
malfunctions can cause fires. Also, remember
to keep gas or electrical heaters away from
curtains or other flammable materials, and
turn them off when you leave the room.
Don't smoke in bed.
Many house fires are started by people falling
asleep with a lit cigarette in their hand,
so you should avoid smoking in bed at all
costs. Also make sure that there are no
embers in an ashtray before you throw its
contents in the bin.
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