Common Tools of Fire Safety
A smoke detector designed to detect both smoke and carbon monoxide is far and away the most important tool of fire safety. Anyone who has forgotten to open a damper and then walked into another room knows that these sensitive alarms detect smoke long before our noses do. Odorless invisible carbon monoxide is even more dangerous, and it can build up in poorly performing flues that fail to vent smoke properly.
A single-use fire extinguisher kept near but away from likely sources of fire is another common sense fire safety tool. A common mistake is putting the extinguisher too close to the fireplace or stove, forcing homeowners to reach through dancing flames for it. An extinguisher should be handy but beyond the likely range of a possible fire, and everyone in the home should know how to use it.
Fire Safety Tools Should Be Household Words
A bucket of sand and a shovel are never a bad idea for a fireplace hearth and can be attractive decorative items as well. If sand is a problem, that is no reason to toss out the bucket; an empty one helps in cleaning the fireplace by giving a place for the ashes, also improving fire safety.
A fireplace screen belongs among common tools of fireplace safety as well, and for more than one reason. A decorative screen prevents sparks from flying out of the fireplace to set fire to a newspaper or carpeting. It also prevents children from coming dangerously close to the fire, hypnotized by curling flames and glowing embers.
Heads, It’s The Phone Book…
To round out the top five fire safety tools, we are torn between a fire retardant surround for fireplaces and a phone book. The first is definitely a good idea, but the second can put you in touch with a chimney sweep. Having your chimney professionally swept is absolutely critical to fireplace safety, so we are going with the phone book, but keep them away from the fire!