Courtesy of                    
DAVID M. COLEMAN
Insurance Agency, Inc.
 
Consumer Information
Home Fire Safety

Over half of each year's fire victims are killed in their own homes. This is more than those killed by all other fires combined. Every minute of every day, one American home in the United States is destroyed or damaged by fire resulting in injury or death. The annual dollar cost to American homeowners is in excess of $3,000,000,000.

Every fire in a home represents a failure - a failure to identify a possible cause of loss and failure to take steps to correct them. Many times these deaths occur when some simple rules of safety are violated or ignored.

By using this checklist, you will know where you stand on home fire safety. Every "no" answer is an indication of the need to take action.

HEATING AND COOKING
 		      
Are you careful not to leave the stove unattended when cooking with Grease, oils, etc?
 		     YES  NO
Is your heating equipment checked and cleaned annually by a qualified technician?
 		     YES   NO
Are furnaces, boilers, stoves and smokepipes (chimney connectors) Installed with sufficient clearance to combustible walls and ceilings and are they in good repair?
 		     YES   NO
Do you have any portable heaters in your home? Are they located in a safe area and properly maintained?
 		     YES   NO
Do you have a woodburning stove in your home? Is it properly installed with adequate clearances from floors, walls, ceilings, etc?
 		     YES   NO
Do you make sure there are no curtains, drapes, clothes or furniture near any heater, stove, fireplace or wood stove in the house?
 		     YES   NO
Do you have the chimney cleaned and checked before each heating season to insure against chimney fire?
 		     YES   NO
ELECTRICITY
 		      
Is the proper size fuse/circuit breaker (15 amps for lighting circuits) provided in each socket of the fuse/circuit breaker box? Do you use a new fuse - never substitutes - when replacement is necessary?
 		     YES   NO
Do you make sure circuits are never overloaded?
 		     YES   NO
Are all appliances checked periodically to be certain they are in good operating condition?
 		     YES   NO
Do you make certain that extension cords are never run under rugs, nailed to building surface, hooked over nails or spliced? Are appliance and other electrical cords in good condition?
 		     YES   NO
Is your TV antenna installed where it cannot fall across power lines? Is it properly secured or guyed and equipped with a properly grounded lightning arrestor?
 		     YES   NO
PRE-PLANNING FOR FIRE
 		      
Have you planned at least two ways to get out of each room in your home? Do you have a planned meeting place outside?
 		     YES   NO
Have you made - and do you regularly rehearse - exit plans with your family, including the children?
 		     YES   NO
Do you keep bedroom doors closed at night?
 		     YES   NO
Do you maintain exit ways free and clear of such items as storage, heaters and stoves, where a fire may start, thus blocking your escape? Are bedroom windows low enough and large enough to serve as emergency exits?
 		     YES   NO
Do you have your fire department telephone number readily available?
 		     YES   NO
SMOKING HABITS
 		      
Do you prohibit smoking in bed in your home? Do you check ashtrays and upholstered furniture for smoldering cigarette or cigar butts before going to Bed?
 		     YES   NO
Are you careful of how you dispose of cigarettes, cigars and pipe ashes?
 		     YES   NO
Are matches and lighters kept out of the reach of children?
 		     YES   NO
REGARDING THE CHILDREN
 		      
Do you make it a rule to never leave small children alone or unattended?
 		     YES   NO
Do you show the babysitter the escape routes from your home and the location of the fire department telephone number?
 		     YES   NO
Are your children trained to keep a safe distance from flame and spark sources?
 		     YES   NO
Do you and your babysitter know the first rule of fire safety emergencies: Get everyone out fast and don't go back in.
 		     YES   NO

 

DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?

1. Family members discuss exit plans.
2. Plan escape routes.
3. Plan secondary way out of home.
4. Keep bedroom doors closed at night.
5. Plan meeting place outside.
6. Call fire department.

 

David M. Coleman Insurance Agency, Inc.

190 Currie Hall Parkway
PO Box 686
Kent, OH 44240
Phone: (330) 673-0485
Toll Free: (800) 732-0851
Fax: (330) 673-3390
Map to Office: Click Here

Email: dcoleman@dmcolemaninsurance.com