3 Most Common Causes of House Fires

1/6/2021 (Permalink)

3 Most Common Causes of House Fires

  The National Fire Protection Association reports that there are as many as 400,000 house fires every year in the United States. Take precautions to prevent the most common cause of house fires, and consider a home safe to protect your most valued possessions as your last line of defense, just in case.

Cooking Fires

The #1 cause of house fires, accounting for 42% of reported incidents, is cooking. Open flames from the stove and intense heat in the oven easily result in a fire when unsupervised. Most often food or cooking tools catch fire and quickly lose control. While giving up cooking all together may be a bit extreme, paying extra attention and never leaving the kitchen while preparing food is an easy way to reduce this risk.

Heating Equipment

Space Heaters should be used if only a small portion of your home needs heated.  Keep all space heaters away from anything that could easily catch fire; such as curtains, laundry, blankets and furniture.  For central heating systems; it is always a good idea to have them maintained manually by a professional.  Also – please be mindful of carbon monoxide danger when using any fuel burning device.

Faulty Wiring

Most of us never think about all of the wires in our home. Unfortunately, faulty wiring is the third leading cause of house fires in the U.S. Typical signs of wiring deficiencies include dimming lights, frequent blown fuses and the inability to use multiple electrical appliances at the same time.   

It should go without saying; but the minimal investment in a reliable smoke detector is always a proper step in deterring home fires.

If you should suffer the misfortune of any sized fire in your home; we at SERVPRO of Sussex County stand ready to offer the most professional remediation and re-build services available.