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Posts Tagged ‘home’

Household Inventory Important for Fire Insurance Claims

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Are you adequately insured? If the unthinkable happens and you have a damaging fire, some or all of your household contents will need to be replaced. Without a detailed household inventory, processing and collecting an insurance claim at the full value of your losses can be difficult to impossible.

Start your household inventory now and set a deadline for its completion. Begin by taking a camera or video recorder from room to room including the garage and around the outside of the house to document your structures and all their contents. Keep in mind that having a family member in the picture will help you establish your ownership of the items should you need to file an insurance claim. Each item should also be documented on a list with details of its name, description, size, age, model number, brand name, and any other information that helps determine its value.

Remember to list everything including items you can’t readily see because they’re in closets or dresser drawers. Keep receipts (or copies of them) with your inventory for big ticket items like stereo equipment, computers, large tools and equipment, artwork, silver, crystal, and jewelry. Check with your insurance agent to be sure that these items are adequately covered for replacement. Most agents can also provide you with a home inventory form to help guide you in collecting the information you need.

Put your videotape or photos and written descriptions with receipts in your safe-deposit box so you’ll have access to it if your home is destroyed.

Also, check the value of these items periodically to adjust your coverage as necessary.

When a disaster strikes home and everyone survives, the one item most home owners wish they had is a household inventory. If you don’t already have one, the time to make one is now.

Article Credits: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making and fire and life safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

Tags: fire, home, insurance, Washington Township
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Fire Prevention Week 2010

Monday, October 4th, 2010

“Smoke Alarms: A Sound You can Live With!” is the official theme for National Fire Protection Association for the 2010 Fire Prevention Week, October 3-9, 2010.

This week student’s will be visited by local fire departments, were they focus on fire safety and what they should do in case of a fire.

So please remember to check your smoke detectors, and please replace smoke detectors that are over 10 years old.

Tags: fire prevention, fire safety, home
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Fire Prevention Week Safety Night in Your Home

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Take some of the scare out of home emergencies by planning a Fire Prevention Safety Night in your own home. Your kids will get the information they need, and you can explore safety lessons together in a relaxed environment.

Many fire departments offer free safety information, so in addition to reviewing the ideas below, ask about ways you can keep your family safe. Then set aside a night to have fun and discuss safety.

Smoke detector check: If you don’t have smokd detectors, purchase them. If you do, determine whether the batteries are working. Make sure that everyone knows where the smoke detectors are located and how they sound.

Carbon Monoxide detectors are recommended for homes with gas-burning appliances. Make sure detectors work and your family knows how they sound.

Home escape plan. Draw a diagram of your home. Talk about reasons you would need to leave your house, such as a fire or gas leak. Have children draw all the ways to safely exit the house.

Outside location. Decide on a meeting place that is a safe distance from your house. Then practice exiting the house from different locations and meeting there.

Electrical problems. Take your family on a home tour. Look for overloaded electrical outlets and cords that run under rugs or show signs of wear. Contact a certified electrician if you locate wiring problems.

Combustible storage. Ensure that combustible material is not stored within three feet of any flame-producting appliance.

Inside location. Talk about reasons – such as an approaching tornado – you would need to find a safe place inside your house. Store blankets and bottle water there. Let family members draw routes on the home diagram from each room and practice meeting at this safe place.

Teach your family and Test your knowledge: Consider providing a Residential Home Fire Safety Course to your family. The Flashpoint curriculum will teach you what to do, what to prevent and what to avoid, as well as:

Increase families’ fire safety awareness through an effective web-based training program.
Teach parents, children, and other occupants of residential dwellings how to prevent fires and fire related injuries, and create a fire safe environment.
Enable families and other occupants to effectively create and use a fire plan.
Teach individuals to react correctly when a fire occurs.
Enable proficiency in inspecting available fire safety equipment.
End results: survival.

Go to www.nifast.org to learn more.

Conclude your family safety night by enjoying a treat to celebrate that you are all together and safe.

The article contains information provided by Ted Collas of Thriving Family Magazine (July/August 2010 edition).

Tags: carbon monoxide alarms, Electrical Safety, escape plan, fire prevention, fire safety, home, smoke detector
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Don’t forget common fire safety – Do you own fire extinguishers?

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Give this some thought…if a fire were to break out in your home, would you have the tools to try and extinguish it?

Any homeowner who can’t answer ‘yes’ to the above question definitely needs to go over basic home fire safety as well as stock the house with some essentials such as a fire extinguisher. An ABC Type Fire Extinguisher is something you should ideally have on every floor of your home. One should certainly be easily accessible in the kitchen, and it’s a good idea to have one near the grill and fireplace too. This type of extinguisher has a strap bracket and a gauge for easy pressure checking. Having a few of these in your home doesn’t hurt anything, and you will be prepared to stop a small fire before it spreads and destroys your belongings or harms a loved one.

Remember, your kitchen stove can be dangerous. It’s a source of an open flame that can lead to kitchen fires. But before that even happens, you can always prevent them by being extra cautious. You don’t want to lose your home just because you left the water boiling.

As shown on the Today Show, Meredeth Viera and Janice Lieberman learn how to use a fire extinguisher with BullEx training systems. Janice Lieberman, of Reader’s Digest and BullEx CEO Ryan O’Donnell show you how to properly squelch out-of-control stove-top and oven flames. In this segment Janice Lieberman visits America’s Test Kitchen to learn how to prevent cooking fires and learns how to use a fire extinguisher with Greenwich, CT Fire Department. Janice even gets some live-fire experience with a BullEx Intelligent Training System. Back in the studio, BullEx CEO Ryan O’Donnell showed Meredith Vieira and Janice how to handle stove-top, oven and trash-can fires with BullEx SmartProps.

Click the image below to view the full segment.

Here are some additional tips on how to prevent kitchen fires.

Always keep a charged fire extinguisher handy. And know how to operate it. Better get an all-purpose one (the one marked “ABC”).
Don’t leave something cooking unattended.
When cooking, turn pot handles inward. You (or your child) may knock them down accidentally.
Clean your stove top from grease. They can ignite. If you happen to experience one, reach for your fire extinguisher.
Roll your sleeves up when cooking.
Keep all flammable things away from open flame. These include wooden spice racks and potholders.
If a pan on the stove catches fire, slide a lid over it to “smother” the flame.
If a fire breaks from other appliances like microwave ovens or broilers, cut off the heat source.

Click here for more information on BullEx’s full line of fire prevention SmartProps, including the SmartStove and TrashCan SmartProp. For more information on our Fire Safety Trailers and to find out how these SmartProps integrate into an entire fire safety scenario, click here.

Source: Information in this article provided by The Today Show at www.msnbc.com and BullEx Digital Safety at www.bullexsafety.com

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making fire safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

Tags: BullEx, extinguishers, fire prevention, fire safety, home, Today Show
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June is Home Safety Month

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Spread the word!

Every year the Home Safety Council promotes the month of June as “National Safety Month“, with an initiative that focuses on heightening awareness of important safety issues. Safety is a huge concern for everyone, particularly our aging parents and grandparents. The public is challenged to make their homes a safer place by assessing for the risks of the five leading causes of home injury: falls, poisoning, fires and burns, choking/suffocation, and drowing. The Home Safety Council website has many helpful resources on home safety tips for different situations for older adults and other populations.

Also, this month, AARP is launching an effort to protect individuals from common household calamities with their “30 for 30” home safety tips – providing 30 daily safety facts and tips. For each day in the month of June, “30 for 30″ provides a fact or tip for ensuring a safer home.

For example:

Did you know that 65,000 barbecue grill fires cause as much as $27 million in property losses each year? Have you thought about moving your grill a little farther from the house?
Did you know that most falls in homes happen in the bathroom, not on the stairs?
Did you know that cooking-related fires are the leading cause of injuries among people 65 years of age and older? Avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing while cooking and use a timer to remind yourself to check food you have in the oven.
Did you know that more people are injured using hand tools than power tools?
Did you know that each year approximately 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths occur in U.S. homes due to scalding from excessively hot tap water? To help avoid this, adjust the temperature setting of your home hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or consider installing temperature limiting faucets on bathtubs, showers, and sinks.
Did you know that each year an average of 20,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with garage doors?
Did you know that many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains high lead levels and lead from paint, paint chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not take care of properly?

The facts connected with each of the “30 for 30″ tips suggest specific preventative actions. The entire list of 30 tips and facts is available at www.aarp.org.

Credits: www.aarp.org and www.homesafetycouncil.org

Tags: AARP, burns, fire, home, safety
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Decorate Safely with Trees and Lights

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

‘Tis the season for holiday decorating. Keep your tree, lights, and other decorations from becoming fire hazards with these simple fire-safe tips.

Before you buy a natural, cut tree, check it for freshness. Shedding needles are a sign of a dry tree which can be a serious hazard in your home. Dry trees can burn like a torch and spread a fire in your home. Test a tree’s freshness by bending a sampling of needles in half. Fresh needles won’t break when bent and won’t be easy to pull off the branch.

Once your tree is home, keep it outside until you are ready to decorate it. Just before bringing it in, cut off the base of the trunk, one to two inches, and place it in a stable base with an ample-sized water reservoir. Making a fresh cut on the trunk enhances water uptake so your tree will stay fresher longer.

Heavy needle drop is an indication that your tree is getting dry. If you observe heavy needle drop before you want to remove your tree, limit the time it is lit to reduce the risk of fire.

Position your tree away from heat vents, space heaters, and out of exit ways. Check all lighting before you put it on the tree. Electric arcing of frayed or broken areas on lights, cords, and plugs causes half of Christmas tree fires. Throw damaged lights away. Do not chance repairing. No more than three sets of lights should be connected to a single extension cord. Overloaded cords can start a fire. Keep all lights and electrical cords away from the water in the tree stand, and away from curtains and other flammable materials. Keep children and pets away from light strings and electrical decorations. Make sure you unplug all lights before leaving the house or going to sleep.

Decorate Safely with Trees and Lights

Use weatherproof lights and electrical cords to decorate outside. Remove them at the end of the season, as they are not designed to withstand prolonged exposure to weather and sunlight. If you purchase new lights or electrical cords, make sure they bear the initials of the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to insure they conform to safety standards.

Candles are especially popular this time of year. Don’t use them on your tree or in window sills. Use electric candles with the UL label instead. If you burn candles, use fire proof holders and remove decorations or floral arrangements that are in or around the container. Always extinguish candles before you leave the room, house, or go to sleep.

Do not burn trees, decorations, or wrapping paper in your fireplace. A flash fire may result as they can ignite suddenly and may exceed the capacity of your fireplace.

Have a safe and merry holiday season.

Author: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

Images provided by Google.

Tags: candles, Christmas, fire hazards, Holiday, home, lights, trees, UL
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