Fire safety

Fire safety plays a large role in living in a safe and comfortable house. What can you do to increase the fire safety in your house? See the tips below.

Put up smoke and CO-alarms

The homeowner is responsible for putting up smoke alarms. Do you own the house you live in? Then, it is your responsibility. Do you rent the house you live in? In that case the landlord is responsible for hanging up smoke alarms. If your house does not have the required smoke alarms, speak to your landlord about it. If the landlord refuses to put up smoke alarms, hang them up yourself.

Smoke alarms are a necessity as they warn you in case of a fire, giving you time to flee. Are you hanging up smoke alarms? Pay attention to the following points:

  • Hang the smoke alarms at least 50 cm away from the wall or a corner. Make sure the smoke alarms is not placed in a draft.
  • Place them on the ceiling of each floor and in the areas that border the bedrooms.
  • Best practice is connecting the smoke alarms to the electricity grid and connecting them to each other. This means that when one smoke alarm goes off, they all go off.
  • Does the smoke alarm trigger often during cooking? Replace it with a thermal detector instead.

Consider putting up smoke alarms in all of the bedrooms and other rooms where you spend lots of time.

Carbon monoxide (or CO) is a poisonous, odourless and tasteless gas. Inhaling high concentrations of carbon monoxide can lead to poisoning. Due to this it is important to also have some CO-alarms placed in the right areas of the house.

Hang the CO-alarm in areas with combustion devices such as the central heating boiler. Place the CO-alarm on the ceiling or the wall. It is also possible to hang the CO-alarm in the bedroom. In that case, make sure that the CO-alarm is not hidden behind a curtain or close to the ventilation.

Don't forget to check the smoke and CO alarms regularly. To test the alarm, press the test button. If you don't hear anything it is time to replace the batteries. A smoke alarm doesn't automatically alert the fire department. In case the smoke alarm triggers and there is a fire, always call 112!

Get fire extinguishers

Place a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and on each floor. Ensure that you have the right extinguisher for the different kinds of fires. A fire in a fryer, for example, can't be put out with a normal fire extinguisher. Check the fire extinguishers every two years, preferably done by specialist.

Make an emergency escape plan

In case of fire, it is important to get out as quickly as possible. You only have three minutes to make it outside! A known environment such as your house can turn into an unrecognizable maze during a fire. So, make an emergency escape plan and share it with your roommates.

To make a good escape route:

  • Check which areas pose the greatest fire risk.
  • Look for the fastest and safest way out:
    • Smoke rises so try to go down as much as possible
    • Try to exit onto the street so first responders can find you faster
  • Find a plan B escape route in case the first one is blocked.
  • It is also possible to appoint one room as the room to escape to in case it is impossible to get out. Make sure that the room you choose has a window facing the street or has a balcony so that fire fighters can help you escape.
  • When fleeing, close the doors behind you to slow down the fire as much as possible.

It is also a good idea to agree on:

  • Who is responsible for rescuing the pets.
  • A place for the keys to front door to ensure that the door can easily be opened if necessary.
  • A meeting place to make it easier to check if everyone made it outside.

Electrical appliances

Electrical appliances are the cause of a large number of fires. Reason for this is the fact that many appliances heat up during use and charging. If that heat can build up it could start a fire. What can you do to prevent this?

  • Batteries heat up when they are charging. Don't put them on the bed or the couch. It is better to place the batteries on a hard surface because the heat transfers less to a harder surface.
  • Unplug the appliance when it's done charging and try to use the official chargers as much as possible.
  • Don't plug to many things into the same electrical outlet. It might seem practical to connect a couple of power strips together but to many plugged in appliances at the same time raises the chance of starting a fire.
  • Only use the microwave in the way it is intended. And pay attention to the cooking times. Microwaves that are heating for too long regularly cause fires. 
  • Regularly clean the filters of electrical appliances and electronics such as the exhaust hood. A cumulation of dust in combination with heat increases the chance of fire. In the case that you want to clean the appliances, don't use water and soap to do this. Using water to clean something electronic could cause it to short circuit.

Clean the fume hood and the dryer

A fume hood can get very greasy over time. This greasy layer can trap dust in the filter. When the fumes reach a certain temperature, this dust could catch fire. Remove the dust from the dust trap after each use of the dryer. A clogged dust trap could overheat and start a fire.