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You may not be aware of this, but you’re surrounded by potential fire hazards nearly every moment of the day. The line between working as intended and fire hazard can be a very thin one in a home environment, and while there are obvious places you may expect the potential of a fire such as your kitchen or laundry room, there are other fire hazards that are not as obvious and often overlooked.
You don’t want to be the person that finds out in the aftermath of a fire that it could’ve been entirely preventable, and with that in mind United Water Restoration Group of Pinellas County, Florida would like to take this time today to help you recognize other fire hazards in your home, specifically in the less traveled reaches.
Whether it be an attic, basement, garage, or shed storage spaces are a convenient place to get things out of sight and out of mind until you need them. In a perfect world, these spaces would be well organized and well kept, but we understand that life can come at you fast and sometimes a once organized space becomes quite cluttered. But did you know that clutter is a fire hazard in and of itself?
It’s not always possible to keep everything where it needs to be, but when it comes to flammable liquids it’s imperative that these are stored properly.
According to the Red Cross, flammable liquids should always be stored in metal containers far from all sources of heat, including minor sources. Keep it cool, keep it separated, and reduce the risk to your property immensely.
Depending on the design of your basement, your furnace may have spare space around it. Perfect for more storage right? Wrong.
Storing things too close to the furnace, the most blatant source of heat in your home, is comparable to literally playing with fire.
With your furnace running hot enough, long enough, things nearby may suffer minor heat damage and after a while could even go up in flames itself. Don’t let a source of warmth become a fire hazard due to items being stored around it.
When storing things in boxes, it’s not uncommon to use old newspapers to help protect fragile items. Did you know that enough newspapers can become a risk for spontaneous combustion? Due to the properties of the paper and the ink, the right conditions of aging newspaper in compact conditions is its own tinderbox waiting to happen and you don’t want it to happen in your basement. Instead of using old newspapers, use spare clean towels for your more fragile items.
When you take everything into account from the more common fire hazards to the less obvious like those we’ve discussed today, you’ll find yourself well prepared against potential fire hazards in your home. That being said, not all fires are preventable.
If you find yourself in need of fire damage restoration, contact United Water Restoration Group of Pinellas County, Florida at (727) 292-1044. Our lines are open 24/7, and our friendly staff is standing by to accept your call.
