Common Mistakes That Can Cause a Fire In Your Home

A fire is easily one of the worst things that can happen inside your home, and unfortunately, they’re more common than we think. Even a small fire can get out of control quickly, especially if your home doesn’t have fire extinguishers or a sprinkler system. With a little forethought, you can keep these terrible accidents from ravaging your home. Be wary of these common mistakes that can cause a fire in your home, and you should be just fine.

Poor Electrical Cord Management

Cords and electrical sockets are not without their own risks. We don’t tend to consider them a risk until it’s too late, and this is a problem for a lot of people. You need to be careful when plugging in and placing cords. If you overuse an outlet, it can spark and set something aflame. Electrical cords can also get very hot, so you shouldn’t cover them with fabric or put anything flammable near them. Short circuits are no joke, and they can start serious fires if you’re not careful.

Cooking With Oil Incorrectly

Many common mistakes that can cause a fire in your home happen in the kitchen. Getting oil too hot when you’re cooking with it is one of the most common ways kitchen fires start. Heating up oil past a certain point can actually make it spontaneously combust and start a fire. Oil fires like this are very difficult to put out because water only makes them spread. For this reason, you always want to make sure you know where your fire extinguisher is in your kitchen.

Unattended Heating Appliances

Heating appliances, such as space heaters and baseboard heaters, understandably generate a lot of heat in a small area. Leaving these unattended is extremely unwise, as you never know when something might go wrong and lead to a fire. Electrical heaters run the risk of faulty wiring, and fuel-based heaters can ignite if you’re not careful with them. Also, never leave anything flammable close to a heating appliance.

Unsafe Use of Candles

Just as with heating appliances, candles are a common culprit of house fires. You can even expand this to any sort of open flame, but candles are the most widely predominant source. You should always be aware of anything surrounding a candle to make sure nothing can get close enough to ignite. There are plenty of safer alternatives to open-flame candles now, but if you do want to use standard candles, keep yourself and your home safe by preparing the area beforehand.