Be Careful and Avoid These Common Fire Hazards in Your Home!

Be Careful and Avoid These Common Fire Hazards in Your Home!

Every year, The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia reports thousands of fire incidents that cause significant damage to homes, establishments as well as injure people dwelling in these buildings. Since fires spread so quickly, it’s important to take precautionary steps like getting home insurance and installing fire extinguishers.

Identifying and avoiding potential fire hazards are also a part of the precautions you’d need to take to prevent fires. Here are three common fire hazards to avoid so your home will remain safe and protected!

Worn out electrical wires

In a world that is getting more and more connected, we rely heavily on our electronic and electrical devices. These devices usually have cables and wires attached to it but they could also become potential fire hazards once the cable insulator is worn out. The inner copper wires could overheat and cause fires when they come to contact with materials like paper or fabric. 

Tip: Check your cables once in a while for any signs of wear and tear. Opt to replace or repair the cables to avoid any unwanted incidents to happen.

Unattended stoves and malfunctioning appliances 

The kitchen can start a fire even when you least expect it to. Walking away from your stove while you’re cooking could risk a fire from catching on to a nearby cookbook or dishrag. Besides that, continuously using a faulty kitchen appliance like a microwave or a toaster could lead to sparks and causing fire to a nearby flammable substance.

Tip: A good rule of thumb is to keep away flammable materials from fire, power sources and heating elements. This includes paper towels, cloth rags, oven mitts and even your sleeves!

Smoking carelessly

Not being wary and careful when you smoke cigarettes could do a lot of harm. Smoking in bed could cause the mattress to catch fire. Emptying an ashtray into a bin when it’s still hot could cause the plastic and trash to burn unknowingly. Be wary about the places that you smoke in and also never leave a burning cigarette or pipe unattended.

Tip: When you can, smoke outdoors! It is a lesser risk of hot ash landing on flammable materials. Don’t forget to stub it out properly before disposing the butt into a designated bin. 

Conclusion

Fire is an incident that is entirely preventable if you follow all these steps. While precautionary steps are important, it’s also crucial that you protect yourself, family members and your home against any accidents that could happen. To learn more about how you can do that, click here https://www.aig.my/personal/home-insurance/standard-home-insurance