One of the biggest threats to both homeowners and commercial property is fire. Every single day in California, homes and businesses are burnt down. Unfortunately, the truth is that many of these fires could have been prevented if only the correct safety measures were taken beforehand. Being educated on the major causes of these fires is important for saving both lives and buildings.
The major causes of home and business fires
While there can be many reasons why a business or home may catch on fire, most business and home fires have common causes. Understanding these causes is important in maintaining fire safety. These include:
- Electrical system failure
- Smoking indoors
- Cooking mistakes
- Portable heater misuse
- Christmas tree misuse
- Unattended wood-burning fireplaces and stoves
- Burning trash near the building
- Lightning strikes
- Misuse of electrical outlets
- Frayed appliance wiring
Many of these causes of business and home fires are entirely avoidable. Even the threat of lightning can be averted by ensuring there aren’t any tall metal objects connected to the outside of the building. Ensuring the building is properly grounded can also avert this risk.
Other important fire safety measures
In addition to removing fire hazards, other fire safety steps should also be instituted in every building whether commercial or private. This should include the installation and proper maintenance of smoke detectors, fire alarms, fire extinguishers and sprinklers.
Check to make sure your smoke detectors have working batteries every few months and run drills for your other systems on a routine basis. A fire escape plan should be drafted and shared with employees, customers or family members. Fire exits should be marked so everyone knows where to go if the fire alarm does go off.
Fires destroy homes and businesses every single day. Saving those buildings requires removing common fire safety hazards. Removing those hazards, installing proper fire detection and safety equipment, and creating an efficient fire escape plan can save lives.