Fire Safety

Chimney and Space Heaters:

With Fall and Winter coming on, let’s discuss some preventative measures. In 2010 some 37 percent of home fires started in the chimney area, and another 32 percent were caused by space heaters. Be sure to have your chimneys inspected and cleaned once a year, and if you have a fireplace or wood stove, never use it to burn paper, trash or green wood. If you have purchased a small space heater for your home, take precaution on the placement of it and avoid placement around window curtains or too close to walls.

Smoke Alarms

This fall and winter check your smoke alarms to make sure the battery is good. Smoke alarms are best tested with liquid smoke, but at least push the button to make sure it is functioning.

Dryer Vents

Dryer vents should be cleaned regularly to prevent fires in the home. Tenants and even home owners fail to perform this simple task. Lint build up in the dryer vent is highly flammable. Add to that extreme heat and oxygen from the dryer itself, and this area becomes a very hazardous area of concern. Just like your A/C filter needs to be changed on a regular basis because of lint build up, the dryer vent clean out is equally important.

Grease Fire

If grease is left on a hot burner it first will begin to smoke and shortly after it smokes, it will ignite. NEVER extinguish a grease fire with water. Adding water to burning grease will create a dangerous explosion. Extinguish a grease fire by covering the pan with a tightly fit lid that shuts off the oxygen to the fire.

LIGHTING

Lighting is a very important feature in a home. When purchasing light bulbs, cheaper is not always best. High intensity lighting can be very costly when it comes to your electric bill. NEVER put an over wattage bulb in a light fixture. Most sockets are designed for no more than 40-60 watt bulbs. Putting more than the recommended wattage can cause damage to the fixture and even fires.

Quick Facts for Winter Landscaping

• Water trees, shrubs, lawns, and perennials during dry fall and winter periods to prevent root damage that affects the health of the entire plant.
• Water only when air and soil temperatures are above 40 degrees F.
• Established large trees have a root spread equal to or greater than the height of the tree. Apply water to the most critical part of the root zone within the drip-line. The drip-line is defined as the entire area under the edge of the branches.
Dry air, low precipitation, little soil moisture, and fluctuating temperatures are characteristics of fall and winter in many areas. Trees, shrubs, perennials and lawns under these conditions may be damaged if they do not receive supplemental water.
The result of long, dry periods is injury or death to parts of plant root systems. Plants may be weakened and all or parts may die in late spring or summer when temperatures rise. Weakened plants also may be subject to insect and disease problems.

REGULAR NORMAL MAINTENANCE

Change A/C filters at the beginning of every month. It is a good practice to put on your calendar to replace the filter every time you pay your rent or mortgage. Twice a year when the time changes from Daylight Savings Time and Regular Time is a good time to change the batteries in the smoke alarms.

Great information from “On Sight Property Inspections”