10 useful fire safety tips that you should know 12^th February 2020

A fire can start anywhere and you will be surprised to know that you may have as little as two minutes to escape from such fires to safety. Early warning signs and proper steps taken once the fire has been detected can save your life as well as others. Most of the home fires that occur are preventable and you should follow certain fire safety tips to protect yourself as well as your family from fire hazards.

Buying home fire insurance is the first step towards protecting your house from an unforeseen fire hazard that may destroy your complete property. But along with this, you need to know some safety tips to protect yourself if and when there is a fire outbreak in your home or office or any other such building.

• Smoke alarms are the basic detectors that must be installed within the building so that you are immediately aware of if there is some fire in your house. Such fire alarms can be installed in your living room and all of the bedrooms. Installing fire alarms does not finish your job and you need to take care if they are working properly by regular checks. You may even need to replace their batteries periodically.
• Have a fire escape plan ready and your whole family should be aware of what to do to escape from the house in case of a fire outbreak.
• In case there is a fire in your home, try to escape as quickly as possible and do not go back to your house to gather any belongings. If your house is insured under home fire insurance, you will get everything back.
• If you live in an apartment, get to know all the escape routes and as soon as there is a fire outbreak, pull the fire alarm so that everyone else is aware of a fire in the apartment.
• In case there is a fire in your home, lie down close to the floor because smoke tends to rise higher. You can save your breath this way and can be safe inside the room for a longer period until help arrives.
• If you are locked inside in case of a fire, try to block all paths of the smoke entrance to your area. You can get any clothing material and place it at the entry point of smoke which is generally the bottom of doors. The wet cloth will prevent smoke from reaching your area and you will be able to survive for a longer period until help comes.
• All the inflammable materials in your home should be handled carefully and must be put in a safe place. In case there is a fire outbreak, try to keep flammable materials out of the reach of the fire, otherwise, they may cause an explosion risking everyone’s lives.
• In case you use fireplaces inside your home to warm the house in winters, install a fire safety gate around the fireplace.
• Fire extinguishers are a must at office places, but there must be fire extinguishers at your home also. Everyone in your family should be trained enough to use the fire extinguisher in case the need arrives.
• In case your clothes catch fire, do not run because running won’t douse the flames, instead, it will only help the flame. Lie down and roll on the ground and the flames must be smothered by a heavy blanket or rug.

All these tips can come in handy whenever there is a fire outbreak in your home or your office. You must follow these tips, but you must never forget to call the fire department to let the professionals handle the fire hazard.