Fire safety precautions are essential for any living situation. However, installing extensive emergency features can be off-putting, or expensive to procure all at once. This article takes a look at the five most essential fire safety equipment that every home should have installed, in order to facilitate at least a good and basic level of safeguarding of the property.
To be adequately prepared in case the worst should happen, be sure to have at least these fire protection features installed in the home:
- Fire alarms
At the top of the list, fire alarms are the most important fire protection system that every home should have. The most important thing of all is to be made aware of any fires that arise. If occupants aren’t alerted to a fire in another part of the house or while they’re asleep, the fire can quickly spread and get out of control.
Fastest and most effective responses
Other fire safety equipment may well become redundant once a fire has spread
In order to have the fastest and most effective responses, residents need to be alerted to a fire as early as possible. Other fire safety equipment may well become redundant once a fire has spread and become out of control.
In the United Kingdom (UK), hundreds of deaths are caused by house fires every year, most occurring in homes with faulty alarm systems or without any fire alarms at all.
If there is only one fire safety feature in the home, it should be fire alarms installed around the house that are checked regularly. Fire alarms are the first and the best defense against a fire.
- Fire Blanket
Fire blankets are easy to use, and an effective measure against smaller fires, before they have a chance to grow. They are simply thrown over a fire to smother it by depriving the fire of oxygen. Entirely flame retardant, they will not themselves catch fire. Fire blankets are particularly useful in the kitchen.
Fires caused by fats or oils when cooking are notoriously difficult to put out, but smothering them is one of the most effective ways to do it.
- Fire Extinguisher
The next step up from fire blankets is fire extinguishers. They do require an understanding of how to use them (though not difficult), so everyone in the home can handle them effectively, should they need to.
They are more effective against fires that are not small and isolated, and could be necessary in order to clear an escape route for the residents. A 2-kilogram fire extinguisher is relatively inexpensive and small enough to be stored comfortably in your home.
- Fire Escape Ladder/Escape Strategies
Beyond alarm systems and basic firefighting equipment, every home should have clear escape routes and strategies. Multiple exits on the ground floor are usually easier to ensure. But in some situations, escape from the upper stories may be necessary.
In order to do this safely, fire escape ladders are the key. These are very compact and storable ladders with easy-release systems that residents can affix to windows, in order to make an emergency escape.
Thameside Fire Protection
For further information on fire safety, get in touch with Thameside Fire Protection. They’re the UK’s number one fire safety company, offering a wide range of fire safety services and equipment.