Protecting Your Home From Fire Hazards

A Nightmare Come True

You are at the store when it happens. You get a call from one of your children. The voice on the other end is in hysteria – you can’t understand a word.

“Slow down,” you say. “What are you trying to tell me?”

There are a few deep gulps of breath, and then your child begins once more, voice still shaking. “Our house is on fire!”

You abandon your cart and head for the doors as you ask the next question, the one you most dread the answer of. “Is everybody out?”

“Yes.”

You feel the knot of fear that’s been forming in your chest relax a little. You rush to your car and dash toward home. When you arrive your street is a scene of bedlam. Your neighbors have all gathered and are gawking as giant orange flames shoot skyward, destroying everything that you’ve worked so hard for.

The fire department is doing its best to drown the fire – and everything else. You realize that if anything survives the flames it won’t survive the water. A total loss.

As you try to approach your burning home a police officer stops you.

“That’s my home,” you try to explain, but the police office isn’t interested. “I’m looking for my family.” The officer relents and guides you toward your children, who are all huddled together. Your fear and uncertainty are reflected in their precious eyes.

While situations like this aren’t completely within anyone’s control, there are a number of steps that you can take to minimize the risks that this will happen to you.

Never store flammable liquids in or around your home. These include paint thinner, some cleaning chemicals, and gasoline

Have your heater and air conditioner inspected annually by a qualified technician

Inspect your water heater an a regular basis

Do not store anything around water heaters and heating units

Keep weeds away from your a/c unit

Make sure that all pilot lights are functional

Unplug all appliances when not in use

Never leave your stove unattended while you are using it

Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children

Change out filters at least once a month

If you do suffer from a fire, hire a qualified contractor to make all repairs. A number of companies specialize in fire/water damage restoration, but most of them do not have a general contractor license. Hiring one of these firms can lead to a lot headaches and frustration down the road. Only a licensed general contractor has passed through rigorous training, ensuring that they know all aspects of construction.

Why risk your money on some firm that has taken a short cut with their training? Where else might they take short cuts? Do you really want to be the one to find out?

HiCaliber is a general contractor who specializes in restoration due to fire/water damage. We are qualified to rebuild, repair, and clean your home or building.

We wish you the best of luck with all your endeavors,

The HiCaliber Team

P.S. We offer many services related to construction and cleaning. Please look through the pages on our website to find a complete listing of all of our services.