Common Household Items That Can Start Fires

With proper handling and care, everything in your household is safe to have around. From kitchen goods, such as toaster ovens, pots and pans, and rice cookers, to home improvement goods, such as spray cans, varnishes, sealants, and even wood, all of these will promise to do more good than harm if they are handled accordingly. Instructions posted on cans, electronics, and appliances should always be read thoroughly even if you have used the product before. Sadly, negligence and failure to follow proper handling procedures contribute greatly to the number of fires that occur annually.

Basically, most fires occur in the kitchen. Small fires can occur when the grease in the pan gets too hot. If the fire is small, then you can slide the lid over the pan to contain the fire and extinguish it. It needs oxygen to survive, and cutting off its only supply of it will put it out quickly. If you use a toaster oven that malfunctions and sets aflame, keep the door closed and unplug the appliance if you can reach it. As with conventional oven fires, the door should remain closed and the appliance turned off. Contact your fire department so they can check to see if any additional fire damage has spread.

When it comes to electrical fires, an overloaded plug has been found to be the culprit more than a few times. Inserting one socket to a single outlet in the wall is safe, but overloading an extension cord with multiple plugs is risky. Invest a few dollars in a surge protector with multiple sockets to decrease the chance of a fire from electric shock. If you look at the prongs on your plug, you might notice that one blade is slightly larger than the left. This is called a polarized plug and helps reduce the chances of shock

Some other common household items that have been known to cause fires are candles, cans with highly combustible chemicals, and even dryers. Candles should always be placed in a high place where kids and companion animals cannot reach them and should never be left unattended. Keep all flammable items away from the candles at all times. Flammable cans must be stored in accordance with the temperature indicated on the back. Putting it in a warm place for a prolonged period of time might just cause it to burst. Although less publicized, clothes dryers have caused many fires. Lint is an extremely combustible particle, and the dry, hot heat emanating from the dryer machine only aggravates it more. Clean the lint trap thoroughly and remove it to get all of the excess lint around and below it that was not caught.

It is a very good idea to purchase a portable fire extinguisher in the event of any mishap. Depending on the situation, however, using the extinguisher can make things better or worse. Use your better judgment, practice fire prevention methods, and put in the extra effort to prevent a fire from occurring.