What Causes House Fires In St. Louis And Ways To Avoid Them

When you own a home, one of the most menacing dangers to your property and family members is the potential for a fire. The U.S. Fire Administration estimated in 2019 that American homeowners underwent about $1.6 billion in losses due to accidental or careless fires. The terrible truth is fires are unexpected and many times preventable -- if you know where to act. And, luckily, you have a monitored fire alarm that gets you help fast if you experience an incident.

What Causes House Fires In St. Louis?

Fires can happen anywhere without notice on the premises. However, you can lower the risk of a house fire by taking safety measures around the following items:

• Stoves and Ovens: Cooking is the leading cause, by a huge margin, of a house fire in St. Louis. Kitchen-related blazes typically start when the kitchen goes unattended while cooking food. Water thrown on a grease fire only works to expand a flame that would alternatively be easily handled.
  
  
• Candles: Passing out in a room with a lit candle is problematic, even when you use a recessed candle holder. The flame can easily catch a curtain ablaze if left near a window, and pets can bump into candles while exploring. The National Fire Protection Association projects that more than 7,600 homes were damaged because of candle-related incidents between 2014-2018.
  
  
• Electrical wires: Corroded electrical circuit interrupters, “tamper-resistant” electrical outlets, malfunctioning or improperly installed lighting, and split lamp cords is a big risk. Don't overwhelm your outlets or plug anything in with bare wiring. If for any reason you hear a pop or smell smoke from the outlet, power down the breaker off ahead of investigating.

• Space Heaters: Look past coiled space heaters because debris, like pet fur, paper, or bed sheets can find their way in and catch fire. However, you need to make sure to check on fan and ceramic space heaters at all times when in usage.

• Cigarettes: Solely in 2014, U.S. fire departments came to more than 17,000 home fires started by smoking paraphernalia. So if you have a smoker who partakes inside, ensure they never take a nap with a cigarette or lay in bed with one. And fully extinguish your paraphernalia before you toss it into a trash can.

A Monitored Smoke Detector Can Help When You Have A Fire

If a fire happens to start, you will need to have an effective detection system to alert your spouse and children before it's too late. A traditional smoke alarm might be sufficient but is limited to alerting you if smoke is in thick clouds. A cutting-edge fire alarm -- a security device that's tied to your home security system -- is able to discover both smoke and excess heat and can do more to make sure your family is safe.

A monitored fire alarm has several it can inform you of smoke. Your alarms will notify your loved ones with a high-decibel alarm and an alert to your cell phone. Then your always-on monitoring experts will contact the fire department. And if you find yourself somewhere in which you’re unable to race home when a fire starts, you can have peace of mind that your monitoring agent will maintain communication between you and the fire department.

Get Your Monitored Fire Alarms From Secure24 Alarm Systems

The possibility of house fires in St. Louis should never be discounted, but you can rest easier if you use a monitored fire alarm in your home. Contact Secure24 Alarm Systems, and we’ll help you install all the smoke sensors you need with a cutting-edge home security system. Call (314) 274-9817 or submit the form below to get started.