The National Fire Protection Association is urging added caution about fire safety while people are working at home during the COVID-19 crisis.
Cooking, heating, and electrical equipment are among the leading causes of home fires each year. As people continue to stay at home and engage in these activities, it’s critical that they recognize where potential hazards exist and what can be done to prevent them.
Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and is responsible for nearly half – 49 percent – of those involving cooking equipment. Those blazes occur most often when people aren’t keeping a close eye on what they’re cooking.
As many households are now dealing with unusual routines and out-of-the-ordinary circumstances like children home from school and parents working from home, there’s greater potential for distracted cooking.
NFPA statistics show that heating equipment is the second-leading cause of home fires, resulting in an average of 52,050 each year. Electrical distribution or lighting equipment is involved in an annual average of 35,100 home fires.
In some parts of the country, heating systems still are in use – in some cases for more hours than usual. Also, with everyone at home, people may be using the same outlets to charge phones, laptops and other digital equipment, which also presents a fire hazard.
With these concerns in mind, the NFPA is reminding the public to use best practices for staying fire-safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond:
In addition, smoke alarms should be located on every level of the home, in each bedroom and near all sleeping areas. Test them monthly to make sure they’re working. NFPA also strongly encourages households develop and practice a home escape plan to ensure that everyone knows what to do in a fire and can escape quickly and safely.
For a wealth of NFPA resources and information on home fire safety, visit www.nfpa.org/Public-Education.
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Post time: Apr-14-2020