Winter is beautiful but can put us at more risk.
Wenatchee Home Inspections
Winter in Wenatchee
With winter putting its grip on most of the country it is a good time to think about fire safety in the home. Make sure your smoke alarms are functioning and have fresh batteries.
Link- Smoke Alarms, Usage and Placement
Make sure your fireplace and heating equipment is in good working order. Try to minimize the use of space heaters and be sure to keep flammable and combustible materials away from them.
Facts about home heating fires- From the US Fire Administration
From 2010-2012, an average of 45,200 home heating fires occurred in the United States each year. These fires caused an annual average of approximately 155 deaths, 625 injuries and $351 million in property loss.
Heating was the second leading cause of home fires after cooking.
Home heating fires peaked in the early evening hours between 5 and 9 p.m. with the highest peak between 6 and 8 p.m. This four-hour period accounted for 30 percent of all home heating fires.
Home heating fires peaked in January (21 percent) and declined to the lowest point from June to August.
Confined fires — fires confined to chimneys, flues or fuel burners — accounted for 84 percent of home heating fires.
Twenty-nine percent of the non-confined home heating fires — fires that spread past the object of origin — happened because the heat source (like a space heater or fireplace) was too close to things that can burn.
Civilian Home Fire Fatality Notices for the week of December 11 - December 17, 2016
Weekly compilation of media reports on civilian home fire fatalities
Civilian deaths:
Number of fatalities: 70
Number of states with fatalities: 28
Total number of incidents: 55
Demographic breakdown:
Male: 32
Female: 27
Gender unreported: 11
Over 65: 21
Children 14 and under: 12
Number of multiple fatality incidents (MFI): 13
Total number of fatalities that occur in MFI: 28
Year-to-date home fire fatalities all ages: 2130
From the National Safety Council-
“Over the past several decades, deaths from home structure fires in the United States have steadily gone down – from 5,200 in 1980 to 2,755 in 2013, according to Injury Facts 2016.
But even one death from a preventable fire is too many. While fire doesn't discriminate by age, it is the third leading cause of death for children ages 2 to 14. In 2013, 202 children in this age group died from fire and smoke inhalation.”
Be safe, enjoy your family and have a very Happy Holidays.
"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."
William Blake
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
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