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Home Fire Safety Inspection Checklist

A fire can occur in any part of your home.  According to the United Sates Fire Administration in 2014 (the most recent data available) 379,500 residential fires were reported across the Country resulting in 2,765deaths, 12,075 injuries, costing over 6.9 trillion dollars.  To help reduce your chances of having a fire in your home print this checklist and take some time using this checklist to make a safety check of your home.  If you answer yes to the question, put a check beside it.

Smoking Habits:

• Are all matches and lighters kept out of children’s reach?
• Is “NO SMOKING IN BED” a rule of the house?
• Is your family aware that ashtrays should NEVER be emptied into wastebaskets?
• Are there plenty of large, safe ashtrays throughout the house?
• Do you check for smoldering cigarette butts in the furniture?

Electrical Hazards:

• Are appliances checked periodically for good operating conditions?
• Are you careful not to run extension cords under rugs or over hooks and nails?
• When using extension cords for appliances, does the gauge of both cords match in size?
• Are electrical outlets overloaded?  Are you using multi-plug adapters?

Housekeeping:

• Do you keep rubbish cleaned out of attics, garages and yards?
• Is paint kept in tightly closed metal containers?
• Are flammable liquids stored in safety cans and kept away from heat and children?
• Have you made it a rule to NEVER use flammable liquids for cleaning clothes or starting fires?
• Are oily rags kept in a tightly sealed container?
• Is your clothes dryer vent clean and properly installed?
• Are dryer vents clean and unobstructed?

Heating:

• If you have a fireplace, is a screen always placed in front of it?
• Is the filter for your forced air heater changed regularly and the venting cleaned?
• Are furnaces and wood burning stoves in good repair and located away from combustible walls and ceilings?
• Do you have your heating/air system checked on a regular basis?
• Do you have the fireplace chimney cleaned and checked periodically?
• Do you make sure combustibles are not stored near the stove, heater or fireplace?
• Do your children keep a safe distance from flame and heat sources?
• Do you have Carbon Monoxide detectors installed if you have gas, oil, or wood burning appliances and/or attached garages?

Cooking: (50 percent of all residential fires are cooking related)

• Small appliances are in good working order and cords not damaged?
• Cooking areas and vents clean and free of grease build up?
• Do you have a fire extinguisher readily available in the kitchen are?
• Do you have a 3-foot Rule (no children or pets) around cooking appliances when in use?
• Are combustible materials clear of cooking appliances?
• Do you clean your oven on a regular basis?

Smoke Alarms and Escape Planning:

• Have you installed a smoke alarm outside every sleeping area, in every bedroom, and on each floor?
• Do you test your smoke alarm(s) every month?
• Does your family have a fire escape plan prepared?
• Is your escape plan posted and regularly practiced?
• Does each bedroom have TWO exits?
• Do you have a meeting place so you will know everyone is outside and safe?
• Are emergency response numbers posted on all telephones?
• Is your address on or near your telephone?
• Do all family members know how to dial 9-1-1 for fire, police or medical emergencies?
• Do you show your babysitter/guests your home escape routes and review 9-1-1with her/him?
• Does your family (and babysitter) know the first rule in fire emergencies:  GET EVERYONE OUT FAST AND DON’T GO BACK INSIDE?

Fire Extinguishers:

• Do you have an UL or FM approved fire extinguisher in your home?
• Do you take it out two times a year and shake it to keep the powder from packing.

Outside:

• Can you see your house number clearly from the street?
• Have all dried grass cuttings, tree trimmings and weeds been removed from your property?
• Clear back highly combustible vegetation from up against your home.
• Use non-combustible landscape feature against your home.
• Do you keep your grill (gas & charcoal) at least 3-feet away from your house when in use?

(See Firewise Landscaping principals www.firewise.org for ideas to protect your home.)