The safety of your home: Increase of house fires during the “Stay Home” COVID-19 initiative.

We have seen a startling increase in the number and severity of house fires during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With more people taking up different activities and learning new hobbies to pass the time, like baking sourdough bread or cooking french fries, the risk of fire has significantly increased. Sadly, this has led to a 65% increase in the number of fatalities recorded year-over-year. That statistic alone is enough to have us very concerned.

Here are some basic tips to help keep you and your family safe:

1. As many of us are beginning to wear non-surgical face masks to protect ourselves and others from the COVID-19 virus, it’s important to remember to never attempt to sterilize a face covering (or any other non-food) in the microwave. There is no evidence that it works, and more importantly, there is a high likelihood of a fire occurring.
2. Make sure you have a working fire extinguisher in the household and store it nearby, not in the kitchen. Remember, you won’t have much time to get to it if a fire starts, and you certainly don’t want to be reaching through the flames to get your extinguisher.
3. While they can add a lovely touch to the atmosphere of your home, candles have long represented a significant source of house fires. Make sure you fully extinguish all candles before going to bed.
4. Check the batteries in your smoke detectors twice each year (we suggest using Daylight savings time as a guide) and don’t forget the C02 monitors, too.