How to Approach Contractors With Knowledge: A Contracting Blog

Fire can have a shattering impact on your home. It can race through your structural building in just a few minutes, giving you and your family members little time to get away. The resulting losses could be tragic, from property loss to severe injuries and even death. By installing fire safety equipment in your house, you can be well prepared to fight out the fire in the event of an outburst. Here are two vital pieces of fire safety equipment every homeowner needs to guarantee the safety of the occupants. 

• Fire extinguishers

Another important piece of fire safety device is the fire extinguisher. Note that there are different forms of fire extinguishers suitable for different fire types. For your home, you should opt for a dry powder fire extinguisher. Typically termed as a multipurpose extinguisher, a dry powder extinguisher can extinguish all kinds of home fires, including solids such as paper, plastic, and wood; flammable liquids such as paraffin, oil and petrol; flammable gases such as butane, methane and propane; fires involving electric appliances and cooking oil and fat.

How to use a fire extinguisher

Imagine having a fire extinguisher in place and you don't know how to use it. There is a basic acronym that's used to operate all fire extinguishers. The acronym is PASS which represents pull, aim, squash and sweep.

1. To begin with, pull the ring from the head of the extinguisher in order to free up airflow.
2. Next, aim or target the extinguisher's nozzle at the lowest end of the fire.
3. Next, squash or compress down the handle in order to discharge the foaming agent.
4. As the foaming agent is being discharged, sweep the fire extinguisher back and forth in a horizontal manner to put out the source of the flare-up.

• Smoke detectors

Most deadly home fires happen at night when people are sleeping. Poisonous gases and smoke resulting from home fires can numb the senses in the shortest time possible. Thus, every home requires a device that will detect smoke and wake up people early enough to escape from a flare-up. The sound of smoke detectors can perform that and reduce your chances of succumbing in a fire.

Because smoke tends to rise, install the detector at the highest point on a wall or ceiling to sense the first signs of smoke. They should be installed in the kitchen, basement, hallways, and garage and outside each bedroom. Because these detectors are commonly battery operated, you should check them on a monthly basis to make sure they are operational. 

Installing and knowing how to use the above-mentioned fire safety devices may one day save the life of your family as well as your property from a fire outburst.