Accidental fires can cause severe damage to your home, and you’ll end up needing to call someone to do fire damage restoration in Rehoboth Beach, DE. While this restoration can work wonders and make your home almost like new, it can’t save all of your personal items and documents. Before you need to deal with fire damage, you should know about the most common causes of house fires. This way, you can be more cautious and prevent a fire from breaking out in the first place.

Cooking

Cooking fires are super common when it comes to house fires. Greases and oils can easily become overheated and cause a fire that burns hot and fast. The best thing that you can do to prevent cooking-related fires is to stay in the kitchen while you cook. Don’t leave your food unattended. You also need to watch out for cooking appliances like toasters and griddles. Make sure they are cool to the touch before storing them away. Small grease fires can be snuffed out with a metal lid over the pan or by pouring baking soda or salt onto the fire, but anything more than a small fire should be handled by the fire department for your own safety.

Smoking

Fires that are caused by smoking can be particularly dangerous. Often times, this kind of fire is started because a person has fallen asleep with a lit cigarette in their hands. Thus, the fire gets out of hand quickly without you noticing, and it starts spreading right where you are sleeping. Make sure you never light up a cigarette when you are tired. It is also best to avoid smoking in bed or near flammable materials like blankets and carpets. One stray ash can do a lot more damage than you may think.

Candles

Of course, candles are a big fire hazard. Candles have an open flame on them already, and when they are placed in unsafe locations, they will start fires quickly. Never place a lit candle near any flammable fabrics or furniture. Keep your matches and lighters tucked away in a secure location, and make sure that your candles are never left unattended. The same rule as before applies as well. Just like with smoking, don’t light candles near your bed and fall asleep with them lit.

Appliances

Appliances that get hot can be big fire hazards. Space heaters are an appliance that is particularly well-known for causing fires. Fabrics coming into contact can ignite easily, and before you know it, you’ll be researching fire restoration costs in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Electrical appliances can have faulty wiring, which can cause a fire to start in your home. Be sure to keep an eye on your appliances while they are in use. Never leave the house when you have appliances like space heaters running.

Electrical Fires

Electrical wiring in your home is not impervious to faults. Any kind of short or fault in your wiring can cause a fire to start in your walls. Because they often start in hidden locations, these fires can get dangerous quickly. The best thing to do in order to prevent these types of fires is to have your wiring checked occasionally and never do your own electrical work unless you are certified and experienced doing electrical work.

Holidays

Finally, holidays are notorious for fires. This is due to people leaving holiday lights on without anyone watching over them. The biggest holiday to watch out for is Christmas. Christmas trees with dry needles are often caught aflame because of the heat from the lights. Don’t leave your holiday lighting on when you are asleep or not home and don’t place lights near flammable objects.

You can do a lot to prevent fires, but they can still happen on occasion. You may find yourself in a position where a fire starts, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. In this case, you’ll want to look into fire and smoke damage restoration in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Let experienced professionals return your home to its original glory. If a fire does happen to occur in your home, don’t hesitate to call United Restoration, Inc. at (443) 727-3307.