Here are five ways you can protect your possessions and your home from fire damage, courtesy of the Home Safety Council:
1. Blow out candles before leaving any room. It may look nice or save electricity to have candles burning all around your home, but it could lead to a disaster if left burning close to something flammable.
2. Learn how to extinguish a small pan fire. If you are cooking and your pan catches fire, be sure you know how to eliminate a grease fire and use the back burners with the pan handles turned toward the back of the stove.
3. As you get close to the holiday season, be sure that your Christmas tree is at least 3 feet away from all power and heat sources and replace all light strings that show any signs of damage or are missing bulbs.
4. Don’t install smoke alarms near windows, doors, or ducts. They will not work right in these places. Ceiling-mounted alarms should be installed at least four inches away from the nearest wall. Wall-mounted alarms should be installed four to 12 inches away from the ceiling.
5. Keep plenty of space around your space heater and make sure it has been tested for safety. Look on the bottom for a label such as ETL, UL or CSA.
What should I do if I have fire damage?
First, contact your insurance agent to see if any of your damage can be covered under your policy. Second, contact a professional fire damage restoration service to determine if it is possible to repair any fire damage to your home.
Who can you recommend for fire damage cleanup?
RestorationMasterFinder.com is a great resource for reputable fire damage cleanup experts in your area! Simply visit the website, select your state from the menu and click on the featured service provider closest to your home.
RestorationMasterFinder.com features ServiceMaster experts for everything from fire damage cleaning services to water damage and mold remediation services across the nation. These highly trained technicians are ready to handle emergencies around-the-clock, or schedule appointment times at your convenience.
