change text size:

Electrical and fire safety issues are vitally important for home safety; these simple steps can make your home a safer place

We see in our home inspections many simple deficiencies that can seriously affect the safety of the home.... and it seems many home owners either don't know, or don't think about such matters.

We've noted what we feel are the most important safety issues for a home owner to observe.

Ensure that your fire and smoke alarms are operative, and be fire hazard knowledgeable.

Use only the right size fuses in a fuse panel, and make sure that you have working GFI protection for any electrical outlet in a hazardous location.

Resolutions:

1. I will change my smoke alarm batteries on January 1, instead of waiting until my birthday (I can buy the batteries on sale the week before, and I’ve enough to remember for my birthday, with my library card, driver’s license and vehicle registration to renew!)
2. I will never take out the battery or cover my smoke alarm while I am cooking, because it is too easy to forget to make it active afterwards.
3. I will never replace a 15 amp fuse with a higher capacity fuse (I don’t want the wiring in my walls to be protecting the fuse I just put in!)
4. Nor will I use a penny behind the fuse, or any other way of defeating the fuse protection (I don’t want to be un-insured if anything should happen…)
5. I will keep clear, unobstructed access to my electrical panel, or fuse box and spare fuses, and flashlight, all the time (I never know when I’ll need to get to the panel in a hurry, and likely in the dark)
6. I will keep clear, unobstructed access to my main water shut-off (if I need to shut the water off in a hurry because of a leak, every second will count!) and will operate the shut-off monthly to prevent it from seizing.
7. I will not store anything closer to my furnace than 36 inches or about 1 meter (The service man will thank me with a less expensive bill if I need emergency repair work, and I won’t increase the risk of burning down my home!)
8. I will test my ground fault protected receptacles every month (in the bathrooms, outside, and anywhere else I have them) and replace defective ones promptly.
9. I will never join two extension cords end to end, and I will never use a high current draw appliance, tool or heater with a light weight extension cord.
10. I’ll use a ground fault protected outlet or a ground fault protected extension cord for any outside lights or other outside or garage electrical uses.
11. I won’t leave burning candles unattended, nor go to sleep with them burning unless they’re enclosed in a lantern, and then only when they're placed where they can’t be knocked over)
12. I’ll burn only good quality wood in my fireplace, not punky stuff or resinous wood like pine, because I don’t want my chimney to catch fire! A roaring chimney fire is the scariest noise to hear in my house, so I’ll have my chimney swept regularly, how often depending on how much and what type of wood I burn.
13. I’ll regularly wash in the dishwasher or the sink, the filter from the range hood over the stove, because I don’t want the filter to plug up, and even possibly catch fire!
14. I’ll thoroughly wash the filter from the clothes dryer each time I clean off the lint, as fabric softeners can deposit onto the mesh, reducing airflow and causing a fire hazard.
15. I’ll check my furnace filter regularly and change it before I can’t see a light through it.