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Can You Take The Heat?
By Katrina Boydon (kboydon@quinstreet.com)
Most people regard themselves as conscious of fire safety in their home. However, the chilling facts are that in the United States a home fire occurs every 86 seconds and 85% of fire deaths occur in the home.
Although home fire deaths have fallen 34% in the period from 1980 to 2000, in the millennium year, there were 368,000 home fires in the United States, resulting in 3,420 deaths, 16,975 injuries and $5.5 billion in direct property damage. If you do not have a comprehensive fire security system in your house, you should consider contacting a professional home security company immediately.
Not convinced? Then answer the following questions to find out if your home, and the people in it, is at risk.
If you answered 'yes' or even 'don't know' to any of these questions, you are at risk. Even if you answered 'no' to all of the questions, you could still be at risk, as there are many more factors to take into consideration. For a fully comprehensive assessment of the fire risk status of your home you should contact a fire security professional for advice. However, there is at least one step you can take yourself.
Step 1 - Reduce the Risk
The principal and minimum requirement to reduce the risk of fire death in your home is the installation of a smoke-alarm. Ninety-five percent of all US homes have smoke alarms, whereas half the deaths due to fire occur in the 5% without smoke alarms.
However, a smoke alarm often isn't enough. One-fifth of home fire deaths during a ten-year period occurred in houses with a smoke alarm installed. In addition, a smoke alarm can only alert the occupants if they are home and know what it is. So who else can alert the authorities to a fire in your home?
Step 2 - Minimize the Risk
Ideally, you need a system that detects a fire immediately and alerts an authority to take action immediately to protect your home.
There are many home security companies offering elaborate and effective protection against intruders. When you decide to install a system, make sure that it also offers peace of mind against fire.
Please, don't wait until you become a statistic before taking action.
Source of Statistics:
National Fire Protection Association: http://www.nfpa.org
Katrina Boydon
A writer in the scientific and business communities for nearly twenty years, Katrina has worked as a research microbiologist at the Royal London Hospital Medical College, assistant editor-in-chief for a journal published by Blackwell Scientific Publications, and as managing director of a postal and courier company, and set up her own business distributing newspapers and magazines in Moscow, Russia. She has a bachelor's degree in microbiology and studied part-time at the London Business School. Currently, she is a freelance writer and Editor-in-Chief of QuinStreet Publishing, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Copyright © 2004 QuinStreet Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.
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