Watch out for Winter Fires!

11/17/2017 (Permalink)

Did you know that the peak season for home and commercial fires is during the months of December through March? According to the United States Fire Administration, 905 people die from winter home fires each year and over two billion dollars worth of property is lost due to these fires. It is vitally important to be ever more vigilant in fire safety during the winter months than any other time of the year. So what is it that makes fires increase so much during the winter? Here are a few of them and what you can do to avoid these from terrorizing your home.

Heating Units and Fire

There’s nothing better than curling up next to a big space heater when the weather outside is frigid. While space heaters provide a lot of comforts they can also pose a great threat. Because of the heat, they generate if any flammable cloth or material lays by one too close for too long it will likely catch fire. If you use a space heater just take care that nothing flammable is ever near them. It really doesn’t take much for something to get hot enough to catch fire and begin to spread throughout the house.

Christmas Trees and Fire

A brightly decorated Christmas tree brings a great festive and Christmas spirit along with it. The concern, however, is that the tree is a tinder box for fires. Use great caution with the Christmas lights you use. Ensure they are reliable and won’t get too hot or spark. Also, don’t leave the lights on for extended periods of time, especially when you are sleeping or out of the house.

Cooking and Fire

Cooking is one of the biggest causes of winter home fires. With all the holiday goodies being baked, food in and out of the oven, and out of the fryer it’s no surprise so many fires are caused by this. In fact, most winter home fires begin during the hours of 5-8 PM, dinnertime. The prevention to this is simple, just keep a close eye on the food. If cooking a big meal with lots of family and friends, always have people in the kitchen looking for the food. Be vigilant and you won’t need to worry about your meal and your holidays going up in flames.

The principles for preventing home fires are always the same no matter what time of the year, it’s just that in the wintertime there are more potential threats out there. You’re following those principles by simply paying close attention and looking for anything that may be at risk for malfunctioning and causing a fire will bring you great protection in most cases. However, if tragedy does strike and you find yourself affected by a home fire, don’t hesitate to call the professionals at SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County. 502.241.6861

At SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County we have teams of trained professionals experienced in fire damage restoration to help you restore your home back to normal in the event a winter fire affects you.