Fireproofing is a key concern for any homeowner. Whether you live in a cosy apartment in the middle of a city or a sprawling estate in the heart of the countryside, the risk of fire is ever present. Thankfully, there are plenty of things that you can do to protect your family and your property, so that if a fire does occur it can easily be extinguished before it causes serious damage.
In this article, we’ll take you through some of our top fireproofing recommendations. We’ll explain what you need to do to fireproof your property, and discuss how you can improve the security of your home in just a few simple steps. Here’s how to maximise your fire protection.
Choose your materials wisely
The simple fact is: some materials burn more easily than others. This is of course of vital importance at the construction stage of any property, when project managers will be tasked with making choices as to which materials they use to give a property sufficient protection.
While there’s little you can do about the materials used to construct your home once it’s already been built, you can make some changes that improve its fire protection.
If you’re refurbishing or redecorating, it’s a good idea to opt for materials that won’t easily burn, such as concrete panels, brick and stucco for the exterior. It’s also worth opting for tiles or stone rather than wood for any outside seating areas.
Look out for fire resistant labels on any soft furnishings that you buy, ensuring that they have been fully tested for safety. Remember that it’s also possible to improve this level of protection even further, by applying your own fire retardant sprays regularly.
Make sure you have working smoke alarms
It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many properties still don’t have working smoke alarms. A smoke alarm is of course an essential item in any home or workplace, and you can pick them up easily at hardware stores. We recommend installing a smoke alarm in every room of your house, except for the bathroom.
Don’t just install your smoke alarms and forget about them. Make sure you test that they’re working at least once a year. It only takes a few seconds to check that they have sufficient battery life to work if they’re ever needed.
Purchase a fire extinguisher
Few homes have a fire extinguisher. But this simple piece of kit could make all the difference if you ever find yourself faced with a fire in your home. We recommend that homeowners have at least one fire extinguisher to hand, ready to use in an emergency.
Fire extinguishers can quickly stop a small fire in its tracks, so if you had a mishap in the kitchen or a problem with an electrical appliance, you’d easily be able to contain it. There are different types of fire extinguishers, designed for different fires. Read up on the options before you make a purchase.
Install fire doors throughout your home
If a fire does take hold in a home, it can spread terrifyingly fast. Fire doors are a good form of defence against a fire, though, as they slow its spread, giving occupants more time to get out of the building safely.
The installation of fire doors can be a significant expense, but it’s well worthwhile. A typical fire door will hold a fire back for between 30 and 60 minutes, protecting any escape routes and giving all occupants a much better chance of making it out of the building unharmed.
Design your garden with fire prevention in mind
If you live in an area that’s prone to wildfires, we would advise you to bear fire prevention in mind as you design any outside areas of your property. Landscaping can be used to fireproof a building, giving your property a far better level of protection than it would otherwise have had.
We recommend that hard landscaping is used around the home itself, to create an area through which fire cannot easily spread. It’s a good idea to keep areas of dry vegetation a good distance from any buildings, and make sure that plants are watered throughout the summer so they don’t dry out and become fuel for a fire.
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There are many things that you can do to fireproof your home, from creating fire breaks and areas of hard landscaping to applying heat-resistant paint and choosing fire-resistant materials. It’s well worth investigating all the options to learn how you can best protect your home with the help of fire retardants and other preventative measures.
If you’d like to find out more about fire retardants and how they can be used to protect your home, don’t hesitate to get in touch.