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We all know that fires are frighteningly destructive and can cause severe destruction to any property. Leave a fire burning long enough and it’s common knowledge that it can burn any property entirely down to the ground leaving very little left. That’s all of your life’s work, all of your possessions, and all of your memories literally gone up in flames.
But despite its fearsome reputation, many people will still nevertheless actually underestimate the severity of fire when it is in smaller quantities. A ‘small’ fire can actually still do severe and permanent damage to a property and this goes even beyond just the things that get burned. For instance, fire damage can actually cause water damage as well – by bursting pipes and boilers for instance. Likewise, even a small amount of fire damage can lead to an explosion, can shatter windows through the pressure alone, and can cause holes in the roof that lead to more extensive weather damage.
For all these reasons it’s important that you do everything possible to prevent fire damage, including even the smallest fires and that you are able to respond quickly and efficiently in any scenario where you are facing flames.
Here is some help on how you can minimize and even prevent fire damage…
Safety Precautions
One important safety precaution is to have a smoke alarm and this is something that every home should have installed by law to help prevent fire damage. Bear in mind that if you don’t have one to prevent fire damage, you aren’t just putting yourself at risk but actually the entire neighborhood.
Neither is it okay to install a fire alarm and then forget about it forever. Make sure that you test it regularly in case the batteries are fading and put it in a sensible place. This can save a fire damage restoration company a lot of work!
You may also want to consider investing in a fire extinguisher to help limit fire damage. This is something that you see more often in a commercial setting but it is certainly not a bad thing to have one around the home. Another precaution you can take is to install a ‘fire door’ in your kitchen. A fire door is essentially a particularly thick, heavy door. These doors are made of wood but they are still thick enough and heavy enough that they are able to considerably slow down the progress of a fire giving you enough time to call the emergency services. These three items combined can often be enough to help you contain and deal with a small kitchen fire quickly. For commercial premises, having a sprinkler system is yet another level of protection that can be very helpful to prevent fire damage from spreading.
Procedures
If you run an office or a commercial business of any kind, then it is imperative to have some kind of fire drill and a safety officer appointed. These things can help you to save lives and to keep everyone out of the building as quickly as possible if ever a fire should occur. At the same time, there’s no reason you can’t have some kind of similar plan in place for your residential property. If a fire occurs, make sure that everyone knows to get out quickly and to look out for themselves.
At the same time, you can also use procedures to try and prevent the need for fire damage restoration entirely. For instance, when it comes to cooking, lighting candles, or using the hob, using a set procedure to systemize the process is a great way to prevent accidents.
For instance, a common cause of gas explosions is to leave the hob on before you go out. If you have a gas hob and you leave it on, it will fill your home with gas. It then only takes a spark to cause an explosion that will cause extensive fire damage and potentially be highly dangerous.
The solution then is to write down a procedure for using the hob that includes turning off the gas. You then just make sure that you follow this entire process strictly every time you use the hob. This is an important process because it means you’ll never absent-mindedly forget to turn off the hob that one time. Remember: it only takes one time for you to completely destroy your house!
A lot of people will feel loathe to follow instructions when doing something they probably do every day – but studies show that having a checklist like this can drastically reduce errors in all walks of life, and in this case, help prevent fire damage and other accidents.
The Home
Finally, maintaining your home and designing it properly can also help you prevent fire damage. That means making sure that there is nothing flammable just above your stove, it means avoiding having bright lights too close to your loft insulation and it means cutting back the tall, dry grass around your house. Try to look at your home with an eye out for fire hazards and address each one in turn.
Fire Damage Restoration
In the case that a fire does hit your property, your priority is to get clear of the building and to encourage your family to do the same. You then should call the local fire department who will come out and ensure that your property is put out as quickly and safely as possible and prevent fire damage from causing, even more, damage to the property.
Following this though, you should then think about calling a fire damage restoration company. These companies will come out quickly in order to address the damage caused by fire and should also be able to handle all of the related problems such as water damage, mold remediation, and everything else that needs doing. These companies specialize in handling fire damage in particular and so can undo a lot of the problems caused by ablaze. Make sure you call them quickly, however, as even once the fire is out, deterioration can continue on your property due to moisture, mold, and weakened structure. The sooner you get their help, the more damage you will prevent and the more money you will save.
When you are in need of a fire damage restoration company contact Secure Restoration
