Take a Stand Against House Fires | SERVPRO® of Beaver County

12/14/2021 (Permalink)

Regardless of the cause, SERVPRO of Beaver County are here for you if your home is affected by fire.

Seeing your home on fire is a frightening scenario to imagine. Fire is something that can happen out of nowhere and cause mass destruction in a matter of minutes.

And despite the amount of awareness that is brought to light about fire safety, more than a quarter of all reported fires occur in homes.

Let’s look at the top causes of house fires, and see if we can help get that number down by learning what we can do to help prevent them.

Cooking. Most house fires start in the kitchen, and the No. 1 culprit is unattended cooking. All you have to do to keep this from happening is to stay at the stove, oven or grill while you prepare food.

Heating equipment. House fires are more common during the winter, for good reason. Around 14% of house fires emanate from the heating unit. Many factors can contribute to this, including malfunctions, mishaps and flammables being too close. One common culprit? The space heater. If you use these handy heaters, place them away from anything flammable and on a level surface.

Electrical fires. There are lots of ways electrical fires can begin, but the most common is frayed wires or faulty outlets! It’s important to ensure you’re using electrical devices appropriately, and if you have an older house, have the electrical system inspected regularly. Older homes weren’t built with modern electrical usage in mind.

Intentional fires. There are more than 28,000 intentional home fires started every year. These aren’t fires that are set for other reasons and simply get out of control; these are fires that are set with the intention of destruction.

Smoking materials. Cigarettes and other smoking materials are responsible for only 5% of all house fires, but they are the cause of the most fire deaths. These deaths typically occur when someone falls asleep while smoking.

Regardless of the cause, SERVPRO is here for you if your home is affected by fire. Contact your local team today to see how we can help.