A young mother of two small children pauses in her Fort Dodge home as she’s preparing lunch for the afternoon. The slight smell of hot plastic raises some concern but, almost as soon as the scent hits her nose, she dismisses it thinking that a small piece of plastic from the packaging must have ended up in the oven. Within just minutes she’s rushing her worried children out the door as smoke starts rising to the ceiling. A neighbor calls the fire department after noticing the back porch of the home, just feet away from the kitchen, in flames. Old wiring was to blame for the fire in this rental home.
Of the 45 fires fought in Webster County last year, there were three main causes, each making up nearly 1/3 of all fires. With just a few exceptions, the fires were either caused by human error, electrical/lightning issues, or arson. We’ve already talked a little bit about things you can do to minimize human error, but during a recent conversation with Fort Dodge Fire Chief, Matt Price, we asked what advice he could offer to the citizens of Webster County to better protect yourself, your home, and your belongings in the event of a fire? Here are the things he wants you to know:
First and foremost, make sure your wiring is up to code. This is typically the biggest risk to any home, but especially in a community where so many homes are close to or over a hundred years old. Electrical fires can hide behind walls, making them difficult to detect before they caused significant damage.
We understand that updating electrical work in a home comes with a large price tag. If that work is not within the budget, there are a few things you can still do to minimize your risk of a fire.
- Do not overload your circuits. Distribute high wattage items such as appliances, space heaters, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, etc. across different circuits.
- Use surge protectors to avoid power surges that could overwhelm the circuit.
- Replace damaged outlets and switches.
- Limit the use of extension cords whenever possible, especially for high wattage items like air conditioners.
Chief Price also stressed the importance of not ignoring breakers that are tripped easily or repeatedly as it is a sign that it’s overwhelmed. You may need to move something to another circuit. If you can’t do that, please contact an electrician.
Speaking of things that are constantly tripped, how many of you currently have the battery for your kitchen smoke detector hanging half-in/half-out of it’s clip? I’m a repeat offender of that one. Chief Price has a clever solution for that one…instead of using a smoke detector in the kitchen, heat a heat detector such as the one you see linked here. These detect the higher temperatures caused by a fire rather than the smoke caused by frying bacon.
The last tip he wants people to be aware of is “close before you doze”. This simply means to close your door before you go to bed at night. You’ve seen that a fire can completely engulf a room in just a matter of minutes. Think about how long it can take to wake someone from a dead sleep and get them to a point where they are thinking clearly. A closed door buys you a substantial amount of precious time. This can be crucial: especially if you’re on or above a second floor and need assistance getting out of your home.
We hope that we have provided you with some easy, practical ways to safeguard your home from fire hazards. A special thanks to Chief Price and his team for their dedication to keeping the people of Webster County safe and informed.
