How to Keep Your Family Safe: Fire Safety, Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Scott Bell (Advantage Home Inspections USA)

5-minute read

As a certified home inspector, I have seen many homes (especially older ones) where adequate safety precautions do not exist or are incorrectly implemented. Just as I do with my clients, this article will advise you what you should do to keep your family safe from fires, carbon monoxide, and smoke. I'll be looking for these when I inspect your home.

Fire hazards in your home consist of mainly four sources.

1.    Gas or electric stoves

2.    Furnaces

3.    Space heaters

4.    Fireplaces

Smoke Alarms/Carbon Monoxide Detectors/Fire Extinguishers

These three items are your best safety assistants. Do not underestimate their usefulness in keeping you safe. These safety tips are true for both Carbon Monoxide detectors and Smoke Alarms.

Working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by 55%

• Safety tip: Replaced 10 years from the manufacture date.

• Safety tip: Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of your home and outside all sleeping areas and test them once a month.

• Safety tip: Inside an attached garage.

• Safety tip: At least 10 feet from the garage door leading to your home.

• Safety tip: At least 15 feet away from gas-burning appliances, like fireplaces or stoves.

Fire extinguishers

• Safety tip: Purchase a multi-purpose fire extinguisher for your home that is large enough to effectively put out a small fire, but not so heavy that is difficult to handle.

• Safety tip: Purchase fire extinguishers that bear the label of a nationally-recognized testing laboratory.

• Safety tip: Your fire extinguishers should be located near exits so that you can easily escape if the fire gets out of control or the room fills with smoke.

• Safety tip: The “golden rule” for fire extinguishers is: If in doubt, get out. When handling a fire with an extinguisher and you have any doubts, simply evacuate.

Safety Tips for the kitchen

Kitchen fires are the most likely place where a fire can start in your home. Gas stoves alone contribute to about 19,000 adult deaths each year. Electric ranges are about 2.5x as many as gas ranges. Here are the things to consider for your kitchen safety that I look for in each inspection.

• Safety tip: Keep a charged, well-maintained fire extinguisher handy.

• Safety tip: Gas ranges should have blue flames, not orange or yellow as orange or yellow flames will produce more carbon monoxide. Adjust your air to fuel ratio so that your flames are blue.

• Safety tip: Gas ranges that produce soot on the bottoms of pots and pans will produce more carbon dioxide. Adjust your gas to air to fuel ratio to eliminate the soot.

• Safety tip: Blocked air vents. Clear and clean the air vents to efficiently vent gases to the exterior of your home.

• Safety tip: Keep cooking surfaces clean and free of grease, oil, and other flammable materials. Keep oven mitts and rags away from burners.

• Safety tip: Never put water on an oil or grease fire, as it can make the fire worse. Small grease fires can be extinguished by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the stove. Keep the cover on the pan until the fire is smothered and the pan is completely cool.

• Safety tip: Roll up sleeves and avoid wearing loose clothing while cooking.

• Safety tip: Replace batteries in battery-powered smoke alarms every six months. A good practice is to replace the batteries when turning the clocks forward in the spring and backward in the fall. If a smoke detector is “chirping,” change the batteries immediately.

• Safety tip: On many smoke detectors, you can check the functionality by pressing a small button on its main surface. You can use a tool to extend your reach if the smoke detector is on the ceiling. If you don’t hear a “beep” when you press the button, immediately replace the batteries. If you still don’t hear a “beep,” replace the smoke detector.

• Safety tip: Regular maintenance and inspection of kitchen appliances, electrical systems, and smoke alarms are crucial for fire prevention. Ensuring that all cooking equipment is in good working condition and free of hazards can greatly reduce the risk of kitchen fires.

• Safety tip: Stay in the kitchen while cooking. If you need to leave the kitchen, even for a short period, turn off the stove.

• Safety tip: Use timers to remind you that you are cooking, and even wake you up in case you fall asleep while cooking.

  
  

Furnaces

A dirty, inefficiently burning furnace can produce deadly amounts of Carbon Monoxide. Newer gas furnaces are equipped with many features that shut the furnace off when a problem is detected, but older furnaces may not have these safety devices.

• Safety tip: Have your furnace cleaned and checked every year by a NATE-certified technician. 

• Safety tip: Change your furnace filter regularly. 

• Safety tip: Keep the area around your furnace clean and unobstructed. 

• Safety tip: Keep the burner area of your furnace clean. 

• Safety tip: Never operate the furnace without the front-panel door properly in place. 

• Safety tip: Do not have anything combustible such as paint thinners and gasoline near your furnace. 

• Safety tip: Do not close off more than 20 percent of the registers in your house. 

  
  

Fireplaces

Fireplaces are the second leading cause of damaging and deadly fires in the home. They should not be taken lightly.

• Safety tip: Keep a charged, well-maintained fire extinguisher handy.

• Safety tip: Be certain the damper or flue is open before starting a fire.

• Safety tip: Clean out ashes from previous fires. Levels of ash at the base of the fireplace should be kept to 1 inch or less.

• Safety tip: Even if the chimney is not due for cleaning, it is important to check for animal nests or other blockages that could prevent smoke from escaping.

• Safety tip: Minimize your child's chance of burns from the hot glass front of some fireplaces, including gas fireplaces. Safety screens can be installed to reduce the risk of burns.

• Safety tip: Make sure the area around the fireplace is clear of anything that is potentially flammable (furniture, drapes, newspapers, books, etc.).

• Safety tip: Never leave a fire in the fireplace unattended. Make sure it is completely out before going to bed or leaving the house.

Space heaters

Heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fires in the United States. More than 65,000 home fires are attributed to heating equipment each year. 

• Safety tip: Never leave a space heater unattended. Turn it off when you’re leaving a room or going to sleep.

• Safety tip: Proper placement of space heaters is critical. Heaters must be kept at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including papers, clothing and rugs.

• Safety tip: Plug space heaters directly into a wall outlet. Do not use an extension cord or power strip, which could overheat and result in a fire. Do not plug any other electrical devices into the same outlet as the heater.