3 Main Causes of Fire Damages

6/28/2018 (Permalink)

No one wants to have to deal with a house fire. I have personally had a kitchen burn out and have dealt with several houses suffer a total loss from fires while working with SERVPRO of SW Bakersfield We have noticed a few things people should look at when trying to prevent the possibility of a house fire.

Some of the most common causes of house fires are:

1. Cooking Equipment
2. Smoking
3. Heating Equipment. 

Cooking equipment such as microwaves, cooking oil and turkey fryers (Or a slow cooker if you are a This is Us Fan) are the leading cause of house fires at 47%. They also cause 20% of home fire deaths and 45% of fire injuries. Always watch food that is cooking and make sure that flammable items are kept away from heating elements. Also, avoid cooking while sleeping or intoxicated with alcohol or medication.

While smoking materials only account for 5% of house fires, it causes 21% of home fire deaths which causes it to be the most deadly cause of house fires. Faulty lighters and cigar/cigarette butts that have not been extinguished are the leading culprits. Of course, the best way to avoid a fire from smoking materials is to not smoke. But if you do smoke, make sure lighters are put in areas where they are less likely to ignite (ie: extreme heat) and make sure all butts are extinguished after use. Also, with the rise of vaping, make sure batteries are removed from vaping devices while not in use. 

Space heaters and uncleaned chimneys are the leading causes of house fires from heating sources. To avoid this, make sure that chimneys are cleaned out regularly  and don't leave space heaters unattended. According to the National Fire Protection Association, from 2011-2015 fires from home heating sources caused about "$1.1 Billion in direct property damage."

*blog information from 2011-2015 statistics from the National Fire Prevention Association