Campfire Safety: Properly Maintaining a Campfire

Camping is a great time to spend with friends and family. With camping comes a campfire so you can toast marshmallows and keep warm. With this campfire come the responsibility of building and maintaining it properly to avoid an uncontrolled fire.

There are three main components of any fire, they are: tinder, kindling and fuel. The tinder is what’s used to ignite the fire; this is usually newspaper or small wood shavings. The kinder are the small twigs and sticks used to get a good flame. Lastly is the fuel, these consist of the large logs that are placed on the fire and burned slowly.

The first step to a safe campfire is clearing the area surrounding the fire. You do not want any stray leave, small twig or shrubs around, as they may catch fire and spread it rapidly and out of control. A 10 foot diameter should be good for a small campfire.

Creating a fire pit of fire circle is an imperative step to campfire safety. A shallow hole is the safest way to go, but a circle of medium sized rock should do the trick. These prevent large logs from rolling off of the fire and into the woods, potentially causing a wildfire.

Always keep several buckets of water within reach. Not only are these used for extinguishing the fire when the night is over, but it also can be used if the fire gets a little out of control.

Never use any type of fuel or lighter fluid to start a fire. The vapors can spread around the area and ignite in a flash, causing a wildfire or catching your camping gear on fire.

The final, and most important step, make certain to completely extinguish the fire and all of the embers. Dump water on them until every single one is drenched and cool enough to grab with your hands.

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Fire Safety: Electrical Fire Prevention

Many residential fires are caused by electricity. Sometimes it is due to faulty wiring, but a lot of times it is due to improper usage of electrical outlets. There are a few tips and warnings to follow to prevent falling victim and extinguishing an electrical fire.

Do not overload the circuit with adapter after adapter. If you have ever seen National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the way Clark Griswald has the Christmas lights plugged in is a great example of how not to do it. Too many electronics plugging into one outlet can overload the circuit and cause an electrical fire.

Never plug a damaged electronic device in. One of two things can potentially happen here. The first possibility is that the broken gadget shorts out completely and catches fire. The second possibility is that is creates a short in the wiring for the house and causes a larger fire.

Good housekeeping is a great way to prevent an electrical fire. Dust and dirt can get into electrical outlets, creating a short and causing a fire.

Low hanging light bulbs, like in the garage or basement, are easy hit and broken. This isn’t really a big deal unless the bulb is hit hard enough that the electrical wires inside the bulb touch a piece of dry wood, and then a fire may occur.

Always have all circuits connected to a circuit breaker or fuse.  Never bypass this process as these components break the circuit is a fault is found to help prevent a fire. If a circuit breaker keeps popping, this means there is a problem somewhere, not that it needs bypassed.

Lastly, if an electrical fire does occur, make certain you are using a proper extinguisher to put it out. Only use an extinguisher with a Class C rating. Any other extinguisher may be water-based and you could be shocked.

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Fire Safety: How to Limit a Wildfires Damage to Your Home and Family

A wildfire can strike at any time and in any place. If you happen to live in a “Wildfire Zone” it is more of a reality. There are a few ways to prevent a wildfire and some tips for surviving a wildfire. Following these can save your home and your family. Being prepared is you best defense.

Only use fire-resistant components in, on and around your house. IF you have landscaping done, make certain to use fire-resistant trees, plants and shrubs. Keep in mind that pine wood is far more flammable than hard wood.

When deciding to paint your home or stain your deck, choose the chemicals wisely. Only choose chemicals that are tested as fire retardant by the Underwriters Laboratory. Never paint or stain using an oil-based chemical as it will just feed a fire.

Only use treated wood to build decks and porches. Treated wood is far less flammable that untreated wood and may prevent catching your entire home on fire.

Have the house built from fire-resistant components. If the house has vinyl siding, make certain the contractor is using fire-resistant siding. The same goes for the roof of the house, make certain all components and non-flammable and non-combustible.

A home that is in a “Wildfire Zone” should have at least 100 feet between it and the nearest pine tree. Always make certain to keep your yard free of any twigs, sticks or leaves, as they are highly flammable and can draw a fire towards your home.

If there is a wildfire threatening your area and an evacuation has not been issued, there are still a few steps to take. Position your vehicle in the garage so it is facing towards the exit, backing up takes longer and every second counts.

Another tip is to confine all of your pets to only one room. This makes for an easier collection if an evacuation is in order.

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Outdoor Burning: Bonfire Safety

Open burning is becoming less and less common in residential areas, but still happens on more rural areas. Open burning usually happens after a large tree is cut down and there is no way to dispose of it. While it is typically legal in most rural areas, the proper steps must be followed and precautions must be taken.

The first step to take is a polite gesture mostly, inform your closest neighbors of you intention to burn and what you intend to burn. This not only gives them fair warning of the possible smoke, but it also alerts them to keep a close eye out for any damages to their house from the fire or smoke.

The next step is to obtain a burning permit. It does not matter where you live, or how far out in the country you are, a burning permit is a requirement. Call your local city office or police station to get the proper steps to obtaining a burning permit.

Never start a large fire using gasoline or any other fuel with flammable vapors. You might take the gas can far away from the fire, but the vapors may spread quickly and create a fireball around the intended fire. All it takes is a split second of heat and that can of gasoline may explode.

Always check the weather forecast prior to burning. If it is going to be a windy day, do not burn. Not only does this unnecessarily spread the smoke from the fire, but it also can lead to red hot embers flying through the air and lighting something else on fire.

Never leave the fire unattended and always be prepared to douse it with water should it get out of control. Lastly, do not turn this big fire into a party. Dealing with a fire this large and hot demands the upmost attention to detail and focus.

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Fireplace Safety: Avoiding Chimney Fires

Chimney fires are just that, they are fires that originate inside you house’s chimney. These fires tend to sneak up on people, because they are not easily seen. Anyone owning a house that has a fireplace or wood burner needs to know the signs of a chimney fire and how to avoid them.

The signs of a chimney fire are quite obvious, once you know what you are looking and listening for. It is commonly said that the “roar” of a fireplace is a soothing sound, but too loud of a roar is a bad thing. If you hear what is a significantly louder sounds, like a low-flying jet, than chances are the roar is a fire in your chimney. Another tell-tale sign of a chimney fire are flames or even small sparks shooting from your chimney.

If any of these signs are seen or heard, immediately call the fire department. Gather up everybody in the house and get them out immediately, except yourself. Close the fireplace damper, cutting off the air supply to the fire and then extinguish the fire using a portable extinguisher or baking soda. After the fire is extinguished, leave your house and await the fire department.

Chimney fires are started by a byproduct of burning wood called creosote. Limiting creosote on your chimney walls is the only way to avoid chimney fires. One important tip is to only burn seasoned or dried wood. Unseasoned wood—also called green wood—emits a cooler smoke and allows the creosote to stick to the chimney much easier. The faster the smoke gets out of the chimney, the less chance it has to stick to the walls. Leaving the damper open allows the smoke to escape more quickly and reduces the creosotes chances of sticking on the walls. The final, and most obvious, tip is to have your chimney professionally cleaned at least once a year.

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Fire Safety: Creating and Executing an Escape Plan

In the tragic event of a house fire, it is hard to keep a clear head. Having a well-planned and practiced escape plan will make the process more streamlined. There are some important things to remember when creating and executing an effective escape plan.

Create an escape route from every single room in the house. Use graphing paper to make a to-scale map of the house and draw a line indicating the most direct route out of the house. The most important thing about this plan is to practice it. Turn it into a monthly game. Once per month, preferably on the weekend, sound an air horn to awaken everyone and see how long it takes everyone to get out of the house without running.

When a fire starts getting larger, typically it is hard to see. So as your team gets better at this, practice the escape route with the lights off to simulate smoke blindness. Compare these results to the light-on test and continue until the light-off test gets nearly as fast as the lights-on test.

If you have security bars over the windows for safety, make certain they all have emergency releases from the inside. This will help aid the fire department if they are trying to rescue someone trapped in a top-floor room.

Once a fire starts and is not controllable, immediately follow your escape plan. Do not attempt to grab any belongings on the way out. Every second counts at this time.

Always touch a door before opening it. If the door is hot to the touch it means there is a fire behind it and passing through is not an option. Simply move on to another escape route.

Create a “safe-area” outside of the house where everyone is to meet, in case the family gets separated. Once you are outside of the house, do not go back in for any reason. If someone is missing alert the Firefighters.

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Extinguishing Fires: Selecting the proper Extinguisher

When a fire breaks out, some people are heroic and will grab the extinguisher and try to put it out. What many of these heroes do not know is that extinguishers have different classes and each one is effective on certain fire types. Using the wrong extinguisher on a fire can actually lead to spreading the fire or causing injury to the user and those around him.

On the label of every extinguisher are a series of letters. These letters indicate what fire types the extinguishers are capable putting out.

Class A extinguishers are for your most basic fires and most home extinguishers can put them out. These are any ordinary combustible material, some examples are: cloth, rubber, wood, paper and most plastics. These are great for putting out basic house fires.

Class B extinguishers are used only for flammable liquids. They are designed to smother the fire with a powder to prevent spreading it. These are used on fires involving the following liquids: grease, oil-based paints, oil and gasoline.

Class C extinguishers are used to fight fires involving electrically-charged items. If your iron would catch on fire while plugged in, a Class C extinguisher is the safest way to put it out. This use a powder to extinguish the flames to prevent electrical shock, it you were to use a water-based extinguisher you run the risk of being electrocuted.

Class D extinguishers are typically only found in metal factories. These are designed to extinguish fires involving flammable metals.

Class K extinguishers are designed for use on cooking and animal oils. They use a heavy baking soda-like powder to extinguish the fire, preventing it from spreading. These are commonly found in commercial kitchens.

Most residential extinguishers found are multi-use extinguishers with A-B-C on the label, meaning they are designed for Class A, B and C fires. Class K extinguishers are becoming more common is residential kitchens though.

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Be Safe: Know Fire Regulations

Firefighters trying to save an abandoned conve...
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It was an unsettling epidemic: The year was 1993 and fires were moving through apartments across the country, lighting up ancient buildings and homes that had been converted into multiple rental units. There was no protection for these structures and no good support system to deal with a fire. They were a collection of weak walls and weaker electrical systems; and the cost was public panic.

Something had to change and finally it did.

In 1994, a series of laws was passed that demanded safety for all forms of housing, not merely traditional homes. All dwellings (whether apartments for rent in Pittsburgh or condos for sale in Mobile) had to meet modern fire safety standards. And the penalties that were provided by law ensured that those standards would be met and would continue for decades to come.

All apartments were (and are) to possess:

Separation Walls. A single spark can destroy a building, claiming valuable property within mere minutes. Separation walls are therefore needed to offer protection between units and slow the process. All buildings must be equipped with these.

Escape Routes. No apartment is to be tucked in the middle of complicated pathways without a direct exit available. Should a fire occur, all individuals must be able to flee the premises easily via stairwells, fire escapes and other exits.

Alarms. All units are to be given smoke alarms. These are to be provided and maintained by superintendents and must be used by tenants at all times.

Electrical Updates. Among the most common causes of fires in buildings is faulty wiring. Ends can fray; outlets can malfunction. And the consequences could be devastating. All apartments must have modern electrical elements and must be checked regularly.

The regulations of each building (whether home or apartment) are dependent upon local and state laws. All units are bound by these rules, and tenants must demand proof of them. Failure to do so could result in dangerous complications.

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How To Ensure Fire Safety

Fire safety is very crucial and everyone can’t handle it. You need to be well trained and proven your skills in this field in order to ensure safety from fire. There are many agencies in the market you have expertise in offering these fire management services through whom you can hope to put an end to the safety woes.

Fire when breaks out is very hard to control and can destroy the entire house or a building in hours. With a proper fire safety method in place you can check its occurrence from time to time and also ensure that there are no worries relating to fir outbreak. A good agency should be able to prevent the disastrous and provide clean and safe services.

Fire management services are growing in demand given the number of fire accidents occurring around the world. Don’t expect to be saved by luck. With a proper fire safety method in place you can save the life of yourself, family and colleagues. It is the most important aspect of today’s life. Don’t be left behind in this safety aspect as it might prove very costly in future or at the time of the disaster. The more vigilant you are the better security can be ensured. This is how you can avert a major fire tragedy in your building and lead a safe life.

Apart from the building, it is also advisable to keep fire extinguisher in the car as you never know when it could be required. A fire accident in your car can destroy your entire car thus causing a huge loss to you. You can easily prevent such occurrences with proper safety methods. This is something that cannot be neglected and needs to be take care of to ensure safety. You can avert a major tragedy.

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Fire Management, The Need Of The Hour

Many of us don’t really know the importance of fire management. It is the most important step in your home or office to avert any disaster. Many of us think that it may not happen to us but only when it happens we realize that the fire management should have been put in place to avert the tragedy. The more and more fire accidents across the world are only proving the point that we can easily control the major disasters by having proper fire safety norms both at home as well as office. Many of us are unaware of the fact that fire is the most dangerous and destructive force in the world and has to be dealt accordingly.

By putting a good fire management in place many disasters can be averted thus giving a safe life to everyone in the building. It is no surprise that fire is now the most feared disaster in today’s world. We can expect to live a safe life by following proper safety methods. We need to be sure about the fire preventions else it can destroy our entire property. The fire igniting things should be kept in a safe place so that they don’t ignite fire. Such preventions can be very crucial. You need to be aware as to how to counter such disasters else it might spell a trouble to you. All of know the fact that fire is very fierce when it breaks out and can reduce everything into ash. You just can’t control it. However there are few things through which a fire can be controlled such as chemicals, water etc. The fire engines are not always available on time in order to prevent such disasters and take time to reach the place. By having a proper safety method you can surely prevent such happenings.

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