Fire safety in an apartment is vitally important. A fire in a space with a multitude of people living so close together has the potential for catastrophic consequences. Renters are able to take a few small steps to ensure they are being fire safe.
Smoking:
Avoid smoking in the apartment. Smoking causes 1000 deaths annually to fires. Remove all smoking related paraphernalia from the apartment in order to keep everyone safe. Do not allow guests to smoke in the apartment.
Power Strips:
Utilize power strips in all outlets. Power strips will shut down if there is a short or spike in electricity. The ability of a power strip to shut itself off will keep the possibility of an electrical fire from ever starting. Power strips are able to be purchased very inexpensively and have the distinct advantage of preventing fires and saving lives.
Watch Food:
Never leave cooking food unattended. The potential for a fire by not properly watching food is enormous. Fires started by unattended food accounts for 66 percent of all fires in apartment or home settings.
Light Bulbs:
Using the wrong size light bulbs has the potential of overheating the lamp and causing a fire. Over heated light bulbs have the possibility of exploding and starting a fire. Make sure that the correct wattage of light bulb is being used. A smarter choice in lighting is to utilize fluorescent light bulbs. Fluorescent light bulbs are less likely to ignite a fire due to their ability to regulate heat more effectively.
Clean:
Clean the stove top after each use. Food or particles that get built up over time due to improper cleaning have the ability to ignite and start a kitchen fire while cooking. Proper cleaning after each use will eliminate the risk of a stove fire due to build up of food or grease.
Self Cleaning Ovens:
Do not use the self cleaning function on the oven. Self cleaning ovens work by burning off dirt and debris. The problem is that the intense heat will often cause the whole oven to start on fire which may quickly spread to the whole kitchen. The 10 year time frame from 1993 to 2003, there were a reported 179,100 fires directly attributed to self cleaning ovens. Avoid this possibility by hand cleaning the oven.
Alarms:
Make sure the apartment has working fire and carbon monoxide alarms. Having working alarms will save lives in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide leak. A fire alarm will notify residents of a fire in the vicinity, even if it is in a nearby apartment. Fire and carbon monoxide detectors save thousands of lives every year.
Jon Engle is currently editor of CaliforniaApartmentsBlog.com providing tips on home loans, real estate reviews, apartment living and new home reviews such as this Huntington Beach rentals and these Norcross apartments.
