You would be hard-pressed to find a person who has lived in the state of California in the last few years and not worried at some point that they would lose their home to fire, suffer serious burns in a fire, or otherwise suffer as a result of a fire. While nothing can prevent 100% of fires, there are steps that can help you avoid one or become aware of one before it can destroy your home.
Keep reading to learn more. If you have been injured in a house fire that you believe was caused by the recklessness or carelessness of a person or entity, then you may have grounds for a personal injury case. Contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation with an experienced attorney.
- Check Your Smoke Alarms on a Regular Basis While you do not want a fire to start, if one does, then you want to know about it. Testing your smoke alarms on a regular basis is the best way to feel confident that you will be alerted if a fire starts. Smoke alarms have small buttons you can press to test them. If the beep that results is weak, then it is time to replace the batteries.
- Look at Your Heating Sources The air filter on your furnace should be replaced as recommended by the manufacturer. If you are using a space heater, make sure that it is not near anything flammable and that you do not let it run unless you are in the room. Remember that something as seemingly minor as dust can cause a fire if near a heat source.
- Make Sure Your Stove and Oven Are Clean Your stove isn’t likely to catch on fire just because you’re cooking on it, but if you have allowed food particles to get direct contact with your burner, then they could cause a fire. You should also check to make sure that you do not have curtains hanging close to your stove. Even a dish towel or cookbook could catch fire if they are left on a burner.
- Stay in Your Kitchen When You Are Cooking It only takes a few seconds for a fire to start and then spread. Do not leave your food unattended. If you must leave, turn off anything on the stove. If you cannot, then ask someone else in your household to keep an eye on it.
- Have Your Dryer Serviced Your dryer should be inspected yearly, and your lint trap should be cleaned out each time you put in a new load of laundry.
- Be Careful with Candles If you are going to burn candles, then they should be burned only in the room in which you are. Do not burn candles in rooms and leave them along, or you are risking that a fire will occur.
