Home Insurance Safety Tips: How To Prevent House Fires In Ontario

Every year, there are about 24,000 housefires that take place in Canada. They result in nearly 400 deaths and more than 3,000 injuries and have an almost $8 billion impact on the Canadian economy.

The good news is that a home insurance policy can serve as an excellent safety net for you if your home is ever involved in a fire. But you should also take the time to learn how to prevent house fires from starting in the first place to reduce your chances of ever having to deal with one.

Let's take a look at some of the ways in which you can prevent housefires in Ontario from affecting your home.

Avoid Smoking in Your Home

Back in 2005, Canada became the first nation in the world to put a fire-safe cigarette law into place. The law called for the cigarettes manufactured by companies to burn their entire length no more than 25 percent of the time when they were put through testing.

The purpose of this law was to cut down on the number of fires caused by cigarettes. They cause hundreds of them both inside and outside of homes every year.

But in general, you shouldn't rely on this law to keep your home safe. Any time you smoke a cigarette in your home, the chances of a fire starting go up substantially.

Either quit smoking altogether or, if nothing else, quit smoking in your home if you don't ever want to have to worry about a lit cigarette being the source of a fire.

Stay in Your Kitchen When Cooking and Pay Close Attention

Many Canadians tend to multitask when they're cooking in their kitchens. Besides checking on the food they're making, they're also wiping down their counters, putting dishes in the sink, reading their mail, and doing a million and one other things at any given moment.

You should not take this approach to cooking.

When you have something on the stove and you're right in the middle of cooking it, your undivided attention should be on your food. The last thing you want to do is take your eyes off the stove for even a second because that's when a fire could, unfortunately, break out.

Prevent Grease From Building Up On Your Stove

After you're finished cooking in your kitchen, you should always clean up after yourself. This will obviously keep your kitchen looking its best, but more importantly, it'll also prevent grease from building up on your stove and the other surfaces in the space.

Grease fires are notoriously difficult to put out. Dumping water on them will actually make them worse, and they can spread to other areas of your kitchen and home in no time.

Your best bet is to get rid of grease whenever you see it in your kitchen and make sure there is no chance of it catching fire and putting you and your family at risk.

Replace Frayed Electrical Cords

Is the electrical cord for a lamp or an appliance in your home wearing down and looking frayed?

As long as the lamp or appliance is still working, it might not be a big cause for concern for you. You might even simply tuck the cord back behind a couch to avoid having to look at it and think that it'll be fine.

By doing this, you could be increasing the odds of a fire starting in your home. Frayed electrical cords can prove to be very problematic as they can allow electricity to escape and lead to an electrical fire if you're not careful.

You should either have frayed cords replaced or, better yet, throw out any lamps or appliances with cords that are damaged.

Additionally, you should keep a close eye on your home's electrical outlets and your electrical system as a whole. If you ever notice any issues with it, call an electrician immediately to have your system inspected.

Service Your Heating System Regularly

Regardless of how you choose to heat your home, your heating system could pose a threat to you as far as house fires are concerned.

Heating systems like furnaces and boilers need to be inspected and serviced at least once and possibly even twice every year. During an inspection, a heating specialist can check out all the parts in your system to see if everything is working properly.

This will extend the life of your heating system. It'll also prevent your heating system from malfunctioning and causing a fire to start.

Steer Clear of Placing Lit Candles Near Curtains

Generally speaking, it's not a great idea to have lit candles positioned throughout your home. If one candle happens to fall over or, worse, if you forget to blow out a candle before going to bed or running out, it could start a fire.

But if you're going to use lit candles in your home, the least you can do is move them away from curtains. Candles have been known to come into contact with curtains and cause fires to begin to burn.

Install Fire Alarms and Smoke Detectors

There's no way to 100 percent eliminate the risk of a fire breaking out in your home. There is always at least a small chance a fire could start.

For that reason, you should install fire alarms and smoke detectors in your home and test them every few months to make sure they're in good working order. It'll allow you and your family to get out of your home quickly in the event of a fire.

Knowing How to Prevent House Fires Is Important

When you know how to prevent house fires, you can make your home a much safer place to be. You and your family won't always be worried about fires starting when you take the proper precautions.

But just in case one does start, it's nice to know you have a home insurance policy that will cover any damage that's done. Shop around for the right rate today and find a policy that will protect your home.

Get a home insurance quote from us and see how affordable it can be to obtain a policy.