The Leading Causes of Home Fires | SERVPRO® of Tallahassee

11/5/2021 (Permalink)

Fires begin due to a number of causes, ranging from the careless to the intentional. And anytime heat sources are used or misused, there’s a risk of an errant flame taking off.

Despite all the advertising and education that’s gone into home fire safety and prevention, fires in the home still account for a quarter of all reported fires in the United States each year.

So let’s do some digging. What’s behind all these home fires, and how many of them could be prevented? Maybe this article will finally be the one that turns the tide.

Cooking. The overwhelming leader in home fires is cooking. Some cooking fires are avoidable, though—in fact, most are. The top cause of cooking fires? Unattended cooking. Taken into actionable steps, that means that the No. 1 thing you can do to make your house safer from fire is to be more careful when you cook, and never leave your stovetop or grill alone.

Heating equipment. Heating equipment causes the second highest number of home fires. While some of it is caused by equipment failure, much of this cause comes in the form of portable space heaters, which are prone to tipping over, overheating or overloading circuits. And of course, any heater is capable of setting fire to objects or materials that sit closer than three feet away.

Electrical fires. Some electrical fires hide behind your walls and are difficult to catch. But routine maintenance and inspection can reveal problems present and forthcoming—so can responsible use of extension cords, lighting and wattage limitations.

Intentional fires. It’s unnerving to think about it, but a surprising 28,000 intentional home fires are started each year. This doesn’t include fires started for a regular purpose that get out of hand, only fires started with the intent of burning a piece of property.

Smoking materials. Fires caused by smoking materials make up only 5% of home fires, but they make up more than a quarter of all home fire deaths. Smoking fires often happen because cigarettes are dropped or remain lit as individuals lie in bed, creating both fire and carbon monoxide hazards.

Regardless of the cause, SERVPRO is here for you if your home is affected by fire. Contact your local team today to see how we can help.