- According to U.S. fire departments, they responded to an estimated annual average of 366,600 home structure fires from 2007-2011. Seven people died each day in the U.S. Roughly one in every 320 households per year had a reported home fire during this five-year period. These fires caused an estimated average of 2,570 civilian deaths, 13,210 civilian injuries, and $7.2 billion in direct property damage per year. Many fires occur because people get careless and think that a fire can not happen in their home, so the take unneeded risk and they end up causing a fire.
- Three out of five home fire deaths occurred in homes without working smoke alarms, which emphasizes the importance of taking personal responsibility when it comes to protecting yourself and your family from fire. In 2013 there were approximately 369,500 fires in the whole year, 2,755 people have died and 12,200 were injured.Fires can be dangerous, so make sure you do all you can to try to prevent a fire in your home.
- There are many procedures a person can do to prevent fires in a home. For example, cleaning the lint from the dryer after each use. If a person fails to do that task, the dryer can stop working properly and could overheat and could end up being a huge fire hazard.
- Another thing to avoid is overloading electrical power strips, this process can overload a circuit and potentially cause a fire. In addition misusing a power strip could be dangerous. For example, plugging too many plugs into a power strip can lead to failure of appliances because it is overloaded.
- Equally as dangerous, chemicals can be a hazard as well. Others recommended to store chemicals and cleaning supplies away from the stove. Placing them in a metal container, in the garage, or in a cabinet away from the heating source will limit your chances of igniting a fire in your home.
- In addition to chemicals, natural materials can also be a fire hazard. Make sure you keep firewood, leaves or other things that can catch fire easily well away from the house. In addition, if you have hot ashes from a chimney or grill near your house, try to keep them in a metal container away from your house. To cut the risk of a fire spreading more than it has already has, make sure that you clear vegetation from 10 feet away from both sides of the driveway and clear any branches that are leaning on power lines because branches could fall on the power lines and cause a fire.