5 Common Causes for Accidental Fires in the Home

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that fire emergency services responded to 357,000 residential fires between 2009 and 2013. Fires are responsible for billions of dollars in property damage from heat and smoke, and thousands of injuries and deaths each year. To better protect your home and family from the risk of fire, it is important to be familiar with the common causes for residential fires. Use the information provided below to develop safety plans for preventing fires, as well as ensuring you and your family’s safety should a fire ever occur.

The five most common causes for accidental fire include:

1. Cooking: Leaving food unattended on cooking or stove tops, materials catching fire, and using unclean cooking equipment were the primary causes for cooking associated fires.
2. Heating: Space heaters placed too close to flammable materials such as bedding, clothing, or furniture fabric, and poorly maintained heating equipment were responsible for most heating related fires.
3. Electrical: Approximately half of electrical fires were due to a failure of electrical circulation or lighting systems. Other causes include the electrical for appliances like clothes washers and dryers, space heaters, air conditioning units, water heaters, and cooking ranges.
4. Smoking: Approximately 5% of house fires were the result of lit tobacco products igniting materials such bedding, furniture fabric, and garbage.
5. Appliance: Improperly maintained and cleaned clothing washers and dryers was responsible for materials such as dust, lint, and clothing fibers, clothing, and machine parts catching fire, leading to house fires.

Use best practices to properly clean and maintain your equipment in your home. Have your appliances and electrical system inspected periodically to guard against potential unseen fire hazards. Never leave cooking food unattended, and if you use tobacco products, make a point to go outside when smoking.

We hope you never have to experience the trauma of a house fire, however, in the event of fire in your home, you can depend on the professionals at Service Master of Florence to provide all your fire restoration and repairs. Trust in our certified experts to remove damage from smoke and soot, as well as provide full reconstruction services where appropriate. Contact us today to discuss your fire restoration needs.

Source:
nfpa.org