Home Fire Prevention Week: It Can Happen to Anyone

In a matter of minutes, a home fire can engulf the building, destroying belongings, precious mementos of times gone by, and a family’s sense of normal and peace of mind. 

At the American Red Cross, the most frequent disaster we respond to—doing so every single day—are home fires. The statistics are staggering. On average:

• 7 people die every day from a home fire, most impacting children and the elderly
• 36 people suffer injuries as a result of home fires every day
• More than $7 billion in property damage occurs every year

It’ll Never Happen to Me

Despite the frequency of home fires across the nation, so many believe it’ll never happen to them. This belief may cause apathy and near disregard of risky actions, increasing the possibility that something could indeed happen. I too was clouded by this mindset, until one day changed it all.

Early on in my Red Cross career, while participating in a weekend smoke alarm installation event, I came across not one, but two homes in the same neighborhood where residents had recently experienced kitchen fires. The sight of a blackened wall, holes in the ceiling, and partially melted kitchen utensils was enough to stop me in my tracks.

In both cases, the cause of the fire was unattended cooking—one, a pot with boiling eggs that a teenager had walked away from and forgotten, and the other, a frying pan of oil that ignited. How many times had I done just what the residents had and walked out of the kitchen to tend to my family or answer a call for just a minute? The answer was more times than I could count. I was lucky. My risky and careless behavior could have turned tragic at any point, leading to damage of my home or worse.

These two families were extremely fortunate as well, considering that the fire didn’t spread outside of the kitchen before it was extinguished. Neither had working smoke alarms at the time, and the event was a wake-up call, encouraging them to take action and request a visit from their local Red Cross chapter for free smoke alarms and home fire safety education.

Preparedness is Key 

My husband, a firefighter for a local department, has seen both tragic and fortunate outcomes on the scene of local home fires. The primary difference between the two? Working smoke alarms. In fact, having working smoke alarms cuts the risk of death and injury in a home fire by half.

In October 2014, the Red Cross launched the home fire campaign to provide the tools and education necessary to keep people safe from home fires. Since it’s inception, there have been more than 1,000 lives saved and 2.2 million free smoke alarms installed.

You can sign up for virtual home safety training and in some communities, free smoke alarm installations, by visiting soundthealarm.org. 

Top Tips for Home Fire Safety

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms, and outside sleeping areas. 
• Test smoke alarms every month. If they aren’t working, change the batteries.
• Talk with all family members about a fire escape plan, and practice the plan twice a year.
• If a fire occurs in your home, get out, stay out, and call for help. Never go back inside for anything or anyone.

Cooking Safety Tips

• Stay in the kitchen when you’re frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you must leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• If you’re simmering, baking, boiling, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind yourself that the stove or oven is on.
• Avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking.
• Keep kids away from cooking areas by enforcing a “kid-free zone” of three feet around the stove.
• Keep anything that can catch on fire—pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, and towels or curtains—away from your stove top and oven or any other appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.

For more information on how to keep your family safe from home fires, visit our fire safety page. 

By Stephanie Fox for the American Red Cross

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.