The 7 Most Common Fire Hazards to watch out for in your Home

Did you know that almost 100% of deaths from fire happen in the safety of your own home? In the blink of an eye a fire can take over an entire house before you have time to think about what to do next.

Here are the 7  most common fire hazards you should be aware of in your home...

     1.       Leaving something cooking in the kitchen. The kitchen is basically the most fire prone place in the house. Things like stoves, toasters, grills and ovens that are left unattended are common causes of household fires.

     2.       Worn out electrical cords. Any damaged electrical cords can easily cause house fires. Keep an eye out for cords that have been chewed by your pets or exposed wires under rugs and carpets.

     3.       Overloading. When multi-plugs are overloaded with a bunch of different attachments they can spark and cause anything flammable nearby to be set alight.

     4.       Malfunctioning electrical appliances. We all own more than one electrical appliance, and at some point they will malfunction in some way. From a faulty TV to a sandwich toaster that sparks out of nowhere, you need to be extra careful to replace your appliances when necessary.

     5.       Flammable materials. A quick way to start a house fire is to place something hot next to something flammable. Some things to look out for include curtains resting close to a hot bulb from a lamp and clothes placed on a radiator or a heater.

     6.       Leaving a candle unattended. NEVER leave a candle unattended, no matter how sure you are that there is no possible way for it to cause a fire. It only takes one wrong move for a candle to topple over or to be placed too close to flammable material.

     7.       Burning cigarettes. Cigarettes are a serious fire hazard especially when forgotten. Never smoke in bed as you run the risk of falling asleep and setting something on fire. Some other things to avoid include leaving a pipe or cigarette unattended and empty an ashtray before it has properly cooled down.

Once a house fire breaks out, it is almost impossible to stop. A tiny fire in a frying pan in your kitchen can turn into something that destroys your entire home in the time it takes to read this paragraph!

Be safe and create a home fire escape plan and practice it with your entire family. Click here to read our quick and easy guide!

PatrolMan is a neighbourhood watch app that is used to keep track of incidents in and around your area, follow the live time feed and even use the SOS button to summon help to your location immediately.