​Ways to Make Your Property More Resistant to Fire

So, you want your home to be more resistant to fire – no matter what you are after, you should know that no home is invulnerable to fire. Some of your belongings will still burn. The fire can still spread easily. What you try to do is reduce the spreading speed and ensure you can react in a safe manner.

The sad truth is that most people overlook this aspect. Sure, they have home insurance, which is helpful, but the stress of going through such an experience is simply not worth the comfort and ignorance. Besides, home insurance may not always cover everything.

The necessity to make a property more resistant to fire is even more obvious in those who have been through such an experience – as well as those who know someone in this situation. Moreover, if the property is a business one, it is the law that forces you to make it more fire resistant.

Now, what options do you have?

Invest in fire doors

No matter how solid and durable your front door is, the truth is a fire can also start from the inside. In fact, this is the most common cause – usually, an electric problem. Fire will usually hit when least expected – while you are not at home or while you sleep.

Internal fire doors will not be able to stop a fire. They will not prevent an electrical fault from causing a fire. At the same time, your belongings in a particular room will still burn. So, what do they do then? Simple – they aim to contain the fire.

Fire doors will prevent the fire from spreading to other rooms – of course, with a limited time frame. This will give your fire or smoke alarms plenty of time to react, meaning you will also have time to call the firemen or use the extinguisher and annihilate the fire.

To keep it simple, fire doors delay the fire and may even save your life.

Get a few fire extinguishers

It normally depends on how large your home is. If you have a small home or a flat, one or two fire extinguishers will do. If you have more levels, you might want a fire extinguisher on each level – you never know.

A fire extinguisher will make the difference between a small problem and a fire that can be contained and your whole house burning down. The fire service will take minutes to get there – sometimes, even half an hour, depending on where you live. A fire extinguisher will give you a good start.

There are more types of fire extinguishers out there, and each of them has a rating – you will normally find A to F ratings. Class A is probably the most common one and can tackle combustibles like wood, cloth, household items, and plastics.

Get some smoke alarms

Different countries have different laws when it comes to smoke alarms. If you are required to have one, do yourself a favor and get a few more – one for each level of your home or key area. Generally speaking, such alarms are installed in or around kitchens.

However, an electrical fault can occur anytime, anywhere, so more smoke alarms will give you a better chance to detect the fire in an incipient stage and tackle it straight away. For maximum protection, you should have a smoke detector in every room – some alarms are smart and will also notify your phone.

Get an anti-arson letterbox

This is one of the most overlooked issues when it comes to fireproofing a home. Believe it or not, only in the UK, arson is the main cause of more than 50% of all recorded fires. The percentage is different in other parts of the world though.

When it comes to an arson attack, the letterbox is by far the most vulnerable element of your home. No one will break a window first in order to start a fire, as you will hear the noise and wake up. Instead, criminals are more likely to start a fire through the letterbox.

Anti-arson letterboxes are quite modern and feature their own fire extinguishing systems. If someone slips a burning piece of paper through the letterbox or an inflammable liquid, the box will react and contain the fire straight away.

Such attacks are less likely to happen out of nowhere, but they are common in areas with anti-social behavior.

Invest in a fire stopping landscape

Sometimes, fires can also originate from the outside. If you live in an area with many farms – the types of places where people burn weeds – or wildfires, it pays off trying to prevent fires from reaching your home. Basically, it is better to prevent than heal.

Assuming you have enough land, you should rely on hard landscaping – stone, gravel, or concrete are ideal because they cannot catch fire. Dry vegetation should also be cleared whenever you spot it, but especially in the summertime.

Believe it or not, specialists also recommend fire resistant plants. Indeed, honeysuckle and lavender are among the most popular recommendations out there. They can slow fires down, but they also prevent them from spreading.

Finally, make sure your plants are well watered throughout the hot summertime. They are less likely to burn if they are fresh and green, so they may actually be able to stop a fire from spreading – it sounds hard to believe, but they have such capabilities.

Conclusion

In the end, learning how to make your home more fire resistant is clearly a good idea. You do not have to wait for a disaster in order to react. Instead, you need to be prepared for all kinds of unexpected situations – after all, no one really expects a fire to start, yet such disasters do occur.

Any of the above-mentioned solutions will support your plan to keep your home and loved ones safe. Furthermore, most of them do not imply any major investments either – after all, it is all about small changes that can turn a deadly scenario into a controlled situation.

 

 

Jeff Campbell