Category: Fire Safety

Every Moment Counts. Especially when there’s a fire. Criminals are selective about what they take, but a fire takes it all. It’s important to have the proper equipment in your home to protect yourself and your loved once should a fire occur.

The independent review site, Safewise.com, interviewed fire-fighters to determine which fire extinguisher they’d recommend.

Their pick: Amerex B402.

Amerex B402 is one of the most recommended fire extinguishers on the market, and its steel casing and aluminum valves make it durable enough to withstand a fire and be recharged for future use.

Other top contenders:

• First Alert Standard Home Fire Extinguisher: Best for Budget
• The Fireman Fire Extinguishing Spray: Best for Convenience
• First Alert Tundra Spray: Portable Pick
• Kidde ABC Multipurpose Fire Extinguisher: Disposable Pick

Types of Fires Extinguishers & Ratings

Before you purchase a fire extinguisher, it’s important to understand the different types of fires. Chemical fire extinguishers are filled with different fire suppressants, and choosing a type of extinguisher with the wrong contents could actually make a fire worse (like throwing water on a grease fire).

Household fires fall under three classifications, depending on the type of fuel burning. The most common fire extinguisher classifications are A, B, C, and K. Class A-B-C fire extinguishers will handle most household fires, but just to be on the safe side, it’s smart to also have a K-rated fire extinguisher on hand for your kitchen.

• Class A: Solid combustible materials that are not metals, like wood, paper, cloth, plastics, and rubber.
• Class B: Flammable liquids, like gasoline, oil, grease, and paints.
• Class C: Electrical equipment, like appliances and outlets.
• Class K: Cooking oils and greases, animal fats, and vegetable fats.

Where to Store Your Fire Extinguisher

It is best to store your extinguisher in your kitchen, 5–8 feet from potential fire sources like deep fat fryers, fireplaces, or clothes dryers. This way you can access them quickly and safely in case of a fire.

Make sure that there is always a fire extinguisher no farther than 40 feet away from any location in your home.

While it’s very important to have a fire extinguisher readily available in your home, it’s equally important to have smoke detectors installed. EMC Security recommends installing at least one monitored smoke detector outside the bedrooms. This way, if there’s a fire, we’ll work to get you the help you need, while you can concentrate on getting your loved ones to safety.

EMC Security monitors for fire at no additional monthly cost.

The room was fully ablaze in 3 minutes.

A recent Good Morning America investigation demonstrated how much more vulnerable today’s modern home is to fire than its older counterparts.

A group of researchers set a fully furnished 12×16 foot room (similar to one found in a modern, open floor plan) on fire to see how long it took for the room to reach a “flash point,” or the moment in a room where everything is engaged in a fire. The result? The room was fully ablaze in 3 minutes.

Why New Homes are More Susceptible

Why are newer-build homes more susceptible to fast-moving fires? Many residences are now designed with an open floor plan, which provides refreshing air circulation and great sightlines, but also fuels flames with oxygen and a clear path for flames. There’s also more “stuff” in newer homes—more technology means more computers, televisions and other personal electronics that are susceptible to fire. And all this “stuff” is now being made with new synthetic materials that burn quickly. Even energy-efficient thermo-pane windows work against homeowners in a fire, trapping heat and causing fire and smoke to circulate.

How to Protect Your Home from Rapidly Spreading Fires

1. The first safety tip is a simple one that many homeowners forget—close the interior doors. When each room is compartmentalized, fire has less room and oxygen and grows more slowly, giving the family more time to get out safely. Get into the habit of closing doors (especially bedroom doors) at bedtime.

What about your “stuff?”

2. When you’re shopping for new furniture or appliances, check the manufacturer’s label to see if the item has been tested for its resistance to fire.

3. Dense, heavy, solid materials will burn more slowly, so consider the heft of building materials if you’re building or remodeling a home. Heavier doors, handles, and non-synthetic construction materials will slow the spread of flames.

4. As the safety window for escaping a home fire shrinks, it’s more important that ever to create a fire escape plan for your family that includes two exit points for every room, and a plan for meeting up outside.

5. The NUMBER ONE thing you can do to protect your home: install a fire monitoring system. EMC Security includes fire monitoring on all of its security systems, starting at $16.95 per month. Call 770-963-0305 and schedule a free consultation to find the fire monitoring and intrusion alarm system that fits your home and your family.

If there is a fire in your house, your ability to get out depends on the reliability of your fire alarm system and proper planning.

Below are tips from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) for developing a fire evacuation plan for your household. For easy planning, download NFPA’s escape plan here.

1. Draw a floor plan of your home.
2. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes.
   • Mark two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.
   • Mark the location of each smoke alarm.
   • Check to make sure the escape routes are clear and doors and windows can be opened easily.
   • If your home has two floors, every family member (including children) must be able to escape from the second floor rooms. Escape ladders can be placed in or near windows to provide an additional escape route. Store the ladder near the window, in an easily accessible location. You don’t want to have to search for it during a fire.
3. Choose an outside meeting place a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet after they’ve escaped. Make sure to mark the location of the meeting place on your escape plan.
4. Make sure your street number is clearly visible from the road. If not, paint it on the curb or install house numbers to ensure that responding emergency personnel can find your home.
5. If there are infants, older adults, or family members with mobility limitations, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an emergency.
6. If windows or doors in your home have security bars, make sure that the bars have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened immediately in an emergency.
7. Practice your home fire escape plan twice a year, making the drill as realistic as possible.
8. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code® requires interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound. Call EMC Security to add fire detection devices in your home today.

Download Escape Plan Template Here

More NFPA Tips…

EMC Security monitors for fire at no additional monthly monitoring cost. Call us to purchase smoke and heat detectors for your home today at 770-963-0305.