The deadly arm of fire can strike any place unannounced; your house is no exception. It is human tendency to lose our senses whenever a fire breaks out. Only experienced folks can calmly do all that is necessary. But this tendency should not prevent you from gaining knowledge about the dos and don’ts in such dangerous situations.

Here are five most essential precautions you should not fail to take against fire

Check your fire escape hatch regularly

Imagine that a fire has broken out in your house. You fret, but keep your head in place, and rush towards the fire escape door. You unbolt it and pull it with all your might, but it doesn’t budge. You tug, tussle, kick, and even scream at it, all in vain. If only you had used the door on a regular basis, you would never have been faced with such a situation. All you need to do is simply open and close the door every day, which takes just about half a second. Half a second is nothing compared to running out of time in an emergency.

Conduct a home inspection especially for fire hazards

You can do this yourself if you have enough knowledge of all that is to be checked. Start with the kitchen, since fire is most likely to break out in that place. Scour the furnaces and the potential gas and electrical equipment for any inconsistency. If you are the one who cooks meals, don’t forget to turn the knob on the burner. Move on to the other rooms and check everything ranging from the fireplace to the insulation. Take care that the combustible materials are nowhere near the heat source. It would recommend visiting your local fire department’s fire prevention unit and see whether or not they conduct home inspections.

Important assets and belongings must be locked up in a fireproof safe

You don’t want to run back inside once you are out the door so that you can collect those important identification documents. The fear is understandable, and even if you are daring enough to rush back in, you are likely to get crushed under a falling ceiling. Life is obviously more important than anything else, but without the proof of your existence, you are as good as dead. So, it is better to keep all the relevant documents and assets that you don’t regularly use in a fire proof safe. Then, all you have to worry about is making an uneventful escape.

Go technology savvy, install smoke detectors

Bedrooms and living rooms call for smoke detectors these days, but apparently not the kitchen. So just install and forget about them? No! You need to get each smoke detector tested after the installation. They need to be checked on a regular basis, at least once a month. The batteries also need to be checked by simply pressing the test button. It is recommended to change the batteries at least once a year. All else will be taken care of.