A residential fire could be most devastating to a family. Seeing your home burning does not only mean losing the structure of the family home, but also burning with it are the precious memories that your entire family has built. It can also be fatal as it could take the lives of your loved ones.
For these reasons that regular fire safety measures, including fire prevention supplies for kids, are encouraged for every family home. These safety measures are not only intended as means to prevent fire but also to instill readiness in case one occurs in your very home.
In fact, children are prepared by parents by introducing them to fire prevention supplies for kids. While fire prevention remains to be an adult responsibility, it is encouraged that children should be aware of their role in keeping their home safe and fire-free.
Be Prepared
Being prepared means a lot in accidental fires in residential homes. According to a study, fires that occur in homes without functional smoke alarms account for nearly 65 percent of total deaths. Moreover, it has been proven that smoke alarms coupled with a detailed fire escape plan have saved lives when routinely practiced.
There are a wide array of cautionary measures that you can make to protect your home from accidental fires.
Buy Fire Prevention Supplies for Kids
Fire prevention is your best weapon to protect your home from accidental fires. An important step in fire prevention is teaching your young kids of the dangers of fire in your home.
Teaching the children about fire prevention may not be easy, but arming them with fire prevention supplies that are designed for kids gives them a leg up. While it is important for the family to have an escape route in case of fire, it is still of paramount importance that family learn how to avoid fire in the first place.
Here are some items for your kids that could be helpful in your fire prevention measures:
- Fire safety books
- Fire safety coloring books
- Fire Safety movies
- Colorful fire escape plan
- Extension cords with fire shields
- Flame-resistant pajamas
- Safety pilot light
- Childproof lighters
- Heat-resistant gloves
- Flame-resistant oven mitts
- Fireplace door lock
Install Fire Alarms
In addition to giving your children a fighting chance with fire prevention supplies for kids, installation of fire smoke alarms outside the bedrooms or any place where someone sleeps is highly encouraged. Fire alarms can also be installed in furnace areas of the house.
You must make sure that there is at least one alarm on every level of your home, including the family basement. But these alarms should be kept away from the kitchen and the bathroom to avoid false alarms when there is smoke from cooking or even during taking hot showers.
Once installed, you need to test these smoke alarms once a month to know if they are working properly. It is also advised to use smoke alarms that have long battery life to lessen the frequency of changing the batteries to only once a year.
But the smoke alarms should be replaced every ten years and be cleaned once a month. It would be better if the smoke alarms are equipped with flash lights especially in homes with children and adults who are either deaf or have difficulty of hearing.
Hold Regular Fire Drills
Nothing beats being ready for any contingencies in the future. In addition to fire prevention supplies for kids, to protect you children once an accidental fire has occurred, it would be best if they and the adults in the family are already aware of what to do during fire.
You have to make an escape plan and practice it with your family. Young children who are three years old and above can already begin learning what to do in case of fire. The ultimate goal for the escape plan is for everyone to reach safety ground after the occurrence of fire.
To make it more effective, you need to draw a floor plan of your home and discuss the escape plan with everyone. You need to make sure that everyone knows how to get out from the house, as well as how to open doors and windows for easy exit.
If you live in an apartment building, you need to emphasize to the young kids that using the elevator is not advisable. Lastly, you have to practice the exit drill at least twice a year. The practice drills should emphasize that getting out from the fire should be done quickly but calmly and peacefully.
Get Fire Insurance
Fire insurance is a type of insurance that covers damage or loss of property due to a fire. This is a specific insurance in addition to the homeowner’s insurance and it covers the cost of reconstruction and repair of the proper above what was covered by the property insurance policy.
The fire insurance policy covers you against fire loss or damage brought by fire ignition, electrical failures, gas explosions, and even natural disasters. Most fire insurance policies cover the home regardless of whether the fire originated from within or outside the family home.
If the home is totally lost from fire, the insurance proceeds can serve as reimbursement to the owner for the home’s current market value. However, insurance coverage limits are affected by several factors including the value of the home and its contents.
Nonetheless, getting insurance for your family home is the best way to protect it from accidental fires. The proceeds from the insurance policy will allow you to quickly rebuild your destroyed home or have them repaired in case there are only certain damages.
So get insurance for your home now and protect your family from devastation that accidental fires may cause.