The holidays are just around the corner. From the Halloween decorations that are intended to scare you to the joy and peace of Thanksgiving and Christmas that is coming up soon, knowing how to keep your home safe from damages for decorations that cause problems is a must. Not only that, with many families cooking larger meals during holiday season it can make the threat of fire damage to your home a real problem. Included in this article are ways to help prevent fire and smoke damage in Michigan and what you should do if you find yourself in need of a home restoration company in Michigan during this holiday season.
How to Prevent Smoke and Fire Damage in Michigan during the Holiday Season
The holidays are a time of joy and celebration when friends and family can get together and enjoy the festivities. So the last thing you need is to worry about the party going down in flames, or up depending on when the fire department arrives. To keep everyone safe and the party going make sure to check if any of these common fire starters are crashing the celebration. Preventing fire damage in your Michigan home is much better than getting repairs afterward.
Damages Caused by Fire in Michigan
As the cold weather takes over it increases the chance of house fires. To combat the chill people stay inside more and use things like fireplaces, space heaters, electric blankets and candles which can all cause fires if left unattended. Most house fires occur in the evening and are in single story or small family homes. Problems while cooking and leaving the stove unattended is another huge threat during holiday season when people are generally doing more cooking and it’s also a highly stressful time for many people. This can lead to a huge amount of damage both to your home and your valuables inside.
To keep your home and your family safe this winter follow these tips:
Decorations: Decorations account for over 800 fires a year not including Christmas trees. During the month of December alone the interior decorations cause 20% of fires. Most start with decorations being too close to heating sources like a candle or a fireplace. One in five of these fires start in the kitchen and one in six in the living room.
Cooking: The biggest risks for cooking fires are on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Why are these three days more dangerous than the rest of the season? No it is not your relatives, but said decorations we just covered. To prevent this it is important to keep decorations away from the stove and other kitchen appliances. Don’t forget, even outdoor cooking can cause problems. Especially when cooking with huge amounts of oil such as with frying a turkey.
It is also important to have someone keeping an eye on the kitchen so the likelihood of simple errors decreases. Watch out for basic kitchen no-no’s like aluminum foil in the microwave or cloths near the burners. It is more important to slow down and focus on one task at a time than to stress out and make a mistake that could cost you your house or life.
Candles: Half of decoration fires are started by candles during the month of December. The biggest winter day risks are on Christmas day, New Year’s Day and Christmas Eve. Christmas trees are incredibly flammable so never have candles near them. Don’t leave candles unattended, always look for possible hazards around the candle before lighting them and when in doubt just buy LED flameless ones.
Heating: Whether a fireplace or an electric blanket, the ways we keep warm can burn us if not properly used. Don’t leave them unattended, make sure to turn off, unplug, or extinguish the heating device before leaving the room and never use anything that looks damaged or outdated without having someone inspect them first.
House fires are typically accidents or simply forgetting to check these things. When the chaos of the holidays comes around it is important to know where things are being placed and what possible fire hazards you need to watch out for. If your home has been damaged by fire or smoke be sure to call the professional restoration company today at Michigan Restoration Pros. Call today at (248) 509-8104 to learn more about their services.