Common Causes Of House Fires in Columbia SC

2/11/2022 (Permalink)

You can prevent Home Fires

You may be surprised to learn the most common causes of house fires in the Columbia SC area can be easily be prevented.

But Knowledge comes before prevention. It's important to educate yourself regarding potential disasters that could occur. While it’s never fun imagining all the “what-ifs,” it’s an integral step to strategizing and planning how you can take the necessary steps to avoid the “what-ifs” to the best of your abilities. Knowing the most common causes of house fires are is a proactive first step.

Kitchens and Cooking

Yeap that's right —cooking is the mostcommon cause of house fires across the United States and right here in Richland County. You frequent your kitchen often to cook meals (or even just to microwave them), and many of the kitchen appliances we frequently use include electrical components as well as open flames if you have a gas stove. Your stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, and even your fridge are susceptible to causing house fires. If you don’t properly clean up grease and other flammable materials that you may use while cooking. Overheating food in the microwave leading to combustion fires is also very real! Be careful while cooking, and don’t forget to clean up as you go or, at the very least, after you’re done cooking.

Portable Heaters

Heaters are another common culprit of house fires. They are often placed too close to clothes, furniture, bedding, fabric, and other flammable materials, which can burst into flames if they become too hot. Having clothing hung over them to dry or placing them too close to curtains are also common ways that heaters cause house fires. Always use space heaters with caution. Make sure they’re placed on even ground and are at least two feet away from anything flammable. Heaters should also be regularly cleaned.

Smoking and Cigarettes

Smoking cigarettes can lead to deadly house fires. Be careful about where and when you smoke cigarettes to avoid house fires at all costs. Cigarettes and other materials that are smoked should always be properly extinguished and disposed of, and flicking them into shrubs, onto your porch or balcony, or elsewhere is a potential recipe for disaster. Be vigilant and stay safe while smoking near your home, if you do it at all.

Dryers and Washing Machines

Laundry appliances, in particular clothes dryers, are another very common cause of house fires. The build-up of lint, dust, dirt, as well as the clothes circulating within clothes dryers, can catch aflame within the machine or due to lint in the external dryer vent. Washing machines and clothes dryers can alight because of electrical faults. This is also true of any large kitchen appliances or other appliances like furnaces, fireplaces, and wood stoves that you may have in your home.

We're here to Help withFire Damage Repair and Restoration 

No matter what may cause fire damage to your home,  our team at SERVPRO of Richland County can help you at a moment’s notice. 

Contact us at (803) 419-0470 to reach highly trained technicians and have one sent on their way to you!