A fire can happen in any home, but it doesn’t have to consume everything. With the right precautions, you can increase the chances that your home will still be standing should a fire arise. Here are a few suggestions for safeguarding your house against a fire.
Choosing the Right Materials
If you’re currently building a new home, you can make your home fire resistant from the ground up. An alternative to traditional wood framing is using insulated concrete forms (or ICF for short). These have been popular in the commercial industry for a while, but they’re growing in popularity in the residential market as well.
Think of them as foam Lego blocks that are filled with concrete. ICF can withstand hours of fire without giving. Additionally, ICF is termite and moisture resistant.
Speaking of replacing areas where wood is traditionally used, consider using metal window frames and metal doors. Fire will burn straight through wooden doors and window frames. Metal replacements, however, can retain a wood like appearance (if that’s what you want), yet resist high temperatures.
Lastly, if you’re adding a deck to your home, you may want to avoid wood. A wooden deck looks great, but in addition to requiring a fair amount of upkeep, it can be a fire hazard. Instead, consider alternative materials like composite. Otherwise, a concrete patio looks great too.
Allowing Firefighter Access
While the above advice will buy you some time in the event of a housefire, it won’t bring it to a stop. For that, you’ll need the assistance of firefighters, which means they need to be able to reach your house. A firetruck requires a clear, concrete path up to your home.
If a firetruck can’t reach your home, it can’t put out the fire.
Additional Steps for Fire Prevention
Even if you’ve taken steps to make your home fire resistant, you should always practice proper fire prevention. One great thing to do is to declutter your home. A messy home is more likely to catch fire, usually from cloth or paper sitting on something it shouldn’t be around.
Clutter can also obstruct your path if you’re trying to escape a house fire.
In addition to keeping your home clean, make sure to clean your roof and gutters. Dry leaves and branches can easily catch fire.
Lastly, clean your dryer’s lint trap after every load. Dryers cause around 14,500 structural fires a year.
Should You Experience a House Fire…
If your home has been damaged by a fire, you need to act quickly. Smoke smell permeates and water from firehoses can lead to mold, rotting, and more. Don’t try to handle fire damage repair yourself. Hire a professional that specializes in emergency repair.
At Reliant Restoration, we have the tools and the experience to get the job done quickly and correctly. It’s our goal to leave your home looking like it did before the fire. For fire damage restoration in Springfield, Ohio and beyond, contact Reliant Restoration today!