FIRE DAMAGE CAUSES

The Most Common Causes of Fire Damage To Homes

There are numerous reasons for causing fire, and the number of causes is as vast as the number of individuals who cause it. Some of the common reasons for causing fire include cooking appliances that have been improperly used, lack of training, and open flames from matches or candles. 

Many people are not aware of how to prevent the fire from starting in the first place. Once a fire starts, things can get out of hand quickly. Let’s take a look at the leading causes of fire damage and the ways you can avoid them to keep you and your loved ones safe from danger.

Electrical shortages

Electrical malfunction is one of the leading reasons why there are house fires. To ensure that you are safe from electrical mishaps in your home, you must check out the electric circuits in your house once in a while. Check if there are any loose wires anywhere around and get it fixed immediately. You can contact the electrician about it and inquire about the best electrical malfunction safety options that can help you reduce the risk of electrical fires.

Suppose your home had been struck by a natural disaster which resulted in water damage to your property. In that case, you should contact your utility company and disconnect electricity for your home until it is safe to turn it back on. Water and electricity don’t mix well together.

Open flames

Open flames are also one of the leading causes of fire. The best practice against a fire starting from an open flame is to keep open flames to a minimum, if any at all. A significant contributor to home fires caused by open flames is candles. While candles bring in romantic feelings or good smells around them, they should not be left unattended. Many candles sold nowadays have metal caps that you can cover to kill off the fire immediately.

In case an open fire gets out of control, you should call for firefighters immediately. The best way to protect yourself from unintentional open fire causing damage to your property is by purchasing a good quality smoke and fire detector that will monitor your home’s air quality and alert you if there is a problem.

Lightning strikes and thunderstorms

Lightning strikes and thunderstorms are also some of the leading causes of fire accidents. According to the National Weather Service estimate, around 4,400 house fires are started each year by lightning. Every year, nearly 16 deaths are due to lightning-caused fires, most of the victims being residents of houses sparked by a bolt.

Not all lightning strikes are the same. Some are short-lived, and others produced continuous electricity flow, which heats objects that it strikes to the point of catching fire. Some of the best practices include closing windows and doors to your home, disconnecting electrical appliances, and staying away from windows.

Lightning striking your home directly is not the only way for the fire to be caused by lightning. If the grass around your home is dried and lightning strikes it, it can also catch fire. Although it happens much more often in arid climates such as in California, keeping the grass surrounding your home watered will help you avoid this type of mishap.

Cooking fire

Home fires that started with cooking fire have resulted in a staggering 49% of all of the home fires, as reported on the National Fire Protection Association website. Cooking fires are often caused by leaving cooking equipment unattended or leaving flammable utensils close to a heat source.

Best practices to prevent a kitchen fire include but are not limited to:

• Keeping wooden utensils away from the heat source.
• Stay in the kitchen while cooking and monitor any excess smoke or fire.
• Add food to the pan slowly so that oil doesn’t splash.
• If the food that you are cooking started smoking badly, turn off the heat and remove the pan.
• Always keep a lid handy, and if fire starts, slide the lid over to cut off excess oxygen to the fire. Turn off the heat source as well.

Home fires caused by smoking inside of the home

This type of fire could be considered a “careless” fire. Most home fires caused by smoking start on the porch, on the balcony, or in the bedroom. Most deaths caused by this type of fire were started either in the living room or bedroom.

The key takeaway here is, do not smoke inside of your home. According to the CDC, the good news is that the number of Americans that smoke has been decreasing—currently, around 14% of the American population smoke cigarettes.

Although almost all of the leading causes of fire damage to the home can be prevented, it is still best to practice basic fire safety techniques at home. It would help if you always had a fire extinguisher and a working fire and smoke alarm in your home. This will ensure that you will get notified if smoke or fire is past the safe limits in your home.

If you are faced with fire damage in Louisville, KY, New Albany, IN, or surrounding areas, please contact Orange Restoration. With state of the art equipment and highly trained professionals, we are ready to get your property back to its pre-disaster condition.