Skip to content
You are here: Home > News-Blog > Winter home safety

Winter home safety

By Steve Glick | 02/01/2014

Winter is a time when weather conditions combined with our activities can create hazardous situations. Take extra precautions to prevent these situations and know what to do if trouble comes your way.

Smoke Detectors

  • Have smoke detectors on every floor and in each bedroom. You can get wireless smoke detectors that trigger each other when one of them goes off.
  • Check your smoke detectors to make sure that they work. Replace your smoke detectors if they are more than 10 years old. Check batters twice a year.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

  • Have carbon monoxide detectors on each floor of your house. Detectors are available that plug into a standard 110 volt outlet and give a digital read out of the carbon monoxide concentration in the air.

Fire Extinguishers

  • Have fire extinguishes readily available
  • Know how to use them properly – before you need them

Fireplaces

  • Have your chimney is cleaned each year by a licensed contractor. When they clean the chimney they will also inspect the system as a whole and point out things that need to be repaired or could cause a fire.
  • Keep fires in the fireplaces small, burning only one or two logs at a time.
  • Do not remove ashes until at least 24 hours after the fire has gone out. Put them in an empty metal can outside – away from your house and garage.
  • Blankets, pillows, and rugs – keep them at least 3 feet away from the fireplace.

Space Heaters

  • Discard older space heaters – They may not have necessary safety features
  • Electrical cords – Make sure that cords are not torn or frayed.
  • Blankets, pillows, and rugs – keep them at least 3 feet away from space heaters.
  • Placement – Do not place on top of furniture or near anything wet.

Emergency Generators

  • Gasoline – Do not store gasoline in the house. Use only approved containers.

Fire Hydrants

  • If you have one on your property, make sure it is visible from the street – and not covered by snow, debris, or bushes.

Cooking Safety

  • For oven fires – leave the door closed and call 911.
  • Cooktop fires – cover the pan with a lid, turn off the burner, slide the pan to another unheated burner and call 911. Fires can continue unseen in walls or cabinet. Call the fire department to check even if you think it has been extinguished.
  • Grease fires – Never throw water on a grease fire. This causes flare-ups and can spread the fire to nearby combustibles.
  • Flaming pans – Do not try to carry a flaming pan outside. You can get injured by flames and heat coming back at you. A spill is very possible and could make matters much worse.
  • Deep frying turkeys – Use the fryer away from the house, garage, deck, or anything else that may catch fire. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. Keep electrical cords away from snow and water.

Snowblowers

  • Do not let children operate
  • Do not store gasoline in the house
  • Make sure the equipment is completely off before cleaning or servicing

Snow shoveling

  • Do not shovel snow unless you are in good physical condition
  • Bend at the knees to protect your back
  • Lift only small amounts of snow at a time
Posted in Health & Safety and tagged , ,
Scroll To Top