What Are The Hidden Residential Fire Hazards?

9/1/2021 (Permalink)

When your laptop is overheating, be sure to keep it on a hard surface instead of on a blanket, sofa, or any type of fabric.

According to the National Fire Protection Agency, residential fires account for 27% of all fires. Most of these fires and fire casualties result from five causes: cooking, heating equipment, electrical distribution, and lighting equipment, intentional fire setting, and smoking materials. Over the five-year period of 2014–2018 in total, cooking was the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Smoking materials caused the most home fire deaths.

Of these five causes, the residential fire hazards that first come to mind are likely the stove and electrical wiring, objects that involve an open flame or electricity. However, there are several fire hazards in the home that often go unnoticed. Below are 3 hidden, residential fire hazards that are important to recognize to protect your home:

• Glassware

Remember the classic science experiment of starting a fire using a magnifying glass? While it is a rare occurrence, other types of glassware in the home, including vases and drinking glasses, can start a fire. All that’s needed for a fire to ignite is a focused ray of light to pass through a piece of glassware and focus on a nearby flammable object. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep glassware away from windows.

• Laptops

The whirring sound of the fan kicking in, the surface of your desk becoming warm. These are the signs that your laptop is working hard and overheating. When your laptop is overheating, be sure to keep it on a hard surface instead of on a blanket, sofa, or any type of fabric, as they are flammable and could increase the risk of a fire starting.

• Loose Outlets

Faulty electrical wiring usually comes to mind as a hazard when we think of causes of fires in the home, but it is beneficial to consider electrical outlets to be equally dangerous. If you’ve ever tried to plug a cord into an outlet and watched it immediately fall out, you’ve experienced the effects of loose blades inside of an electrical outlet. An electrical outlet’s blades naturally loosen over time and when they become too loose, they can conduct enormous heat, risking a fire. 

Residential fires, igniting and spreading quickly, can pose a serious threat to the safety of those living in your home and risk devastating fire damage. To protect your home from a dangerous fire, practice caution and keep hidden fire hazards in the back of your mind.

If a fire ignites in your home, leaving fire damage in its path, don’t hesitate. Call our Team at SERVPRO of Dale City/Lake Ridge and SERVPRO of Woodbridge/Lorton today. You can trust our fire damage experts and our fire, smoke, and soot restoration services to restore damaged areas of your home and make it “Like it never even happened.”