- How To Clean a Smoke Detector
- Fire Extinguisher Cabinets
- Fire Marshal Training
- Fire Resistant Clothing
- Antique Fire Extinguishers
- Fire Extinguisher Disposal
- Is Co2 Flammable?
- Is Oil Flammable?
- Temperature At Which Paper Burns
- What To Do If Carbon Monoxide Detector Goes Off
- Is Paint Flammable?
- Kitchen Hood Fire Suppression System
- Fire Escape Slide
- Chimney Fire Extinguishers
- How To Get Smoke Out Of Clothes After House Fire
- 4 Wire Smoke Detectors
- 2 Wire Smoke Detectors
- Designer Fire Extinguishers
- Ionization Smoke Detectors
- Home Fire Sprinkler Systems
- Photoelectric Smoke Alarms
- Halotron Fire Extinguishers
- Class C Fires
- Class A Fires
- Class B Fires
Fire Safety Tips for Pets – For most people, their pets are like part of the family. They eat together, travel together, and live together. Spending so much time with a pet is very enjoyable, but of course, it also carries a great deal of responsibility as well. Keeping your pet properly fed, providing exercise, and taking care of health concerns like vaccinations are all part of the responsibilities of pet ownership, but there are others you might not have thought about.
This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, Amazon Supply, and the Amazon Supply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
One aspect of pet companionship that many people don’t think about is providing for their safety from fire, but it’s clear that pets often fall victim to house fires when their human companions escape. Sometimes pets are responsible for accidents that cause fires as well. Eliminating the risk of a fire caused by your pet and helping your pet escape from a fire is not difficult. These seven suggestions will give you a good start on protecting your home and your pets. Click here for the Best-Selling Fire Safety Products.
Cats and dogs do not understand fire. They simply bound around the house in their usually enthusiastic way, regardless of whether there are candles lit. Their normal movement around the house can easily cause them to knock candles over, igniting a fire. They may also knock combustible items onto candles.
This risk is enhanced at the holidays when many homes use candles for decoration and when the family uses scented candles to freshen the air. In case of power outages, there may be candles throughout the house, some of them hastily placed when the lights unexpectedly went out.
Explore options for eliminating candles. At the holidays, keep them lit only long enough for family photos, then blow them out. Use battery-powered candles when possible. Consider scent diffusers and other products for adding fragrance to the home. When candles must be used, keep them far from any combustible materials, and be sure to place them away from the edges of shelves and counters. When possible, place them in areas that pets can’t access (which is easier with dogs than it is with cats!)
Providing Clear Escape Paths
If a fire breaks out in the home, your pets need a safe escape route just as much as you do. Pets who live inside all the time may be trapped if no one is home to let them out, as may pets who only go out when the family opens a door for them.
Other pets may be at risk because their normal escape route is blocked, leaving no alternate route for a pet to escape without help. Obstacles both inside and outside the house, as well as improvised locks on pet doors for security or pet discipline, can make it impossible for the pet to get out of the house the usual way.
Many of the same solutions apply here as those we use for ourselves. Consider setting up your home with pet doors, even if your pet is supposed to stay inside. You might be able to permit access to a fenced area just outside the house so that your pet can get outside without running away. Feed your pet in that area from time to time to condition him or her on using the door. A second pet door is also a helpful addition because fire could block access to the first one. Keep all pet doors clear of obstructions.
Report the Presence of Pets
Firefighters can’t rescue pets if they don’t know there are animals in the home. They often enter a burning home and extinguish the blaze, only to find pets inside after the smoke clears. Other pets die because firefighters don’t know exactly where in the house a caged pet is located.
These situations often arise because people assume they’ll be home and available to instruct firefighters on where to go. That is not always the case. Many fires break out when there are no humans around, and sometimes their own injuries prevent them from telling firefighters where to look for pets.
While a free-roaming pet can be difficult to locate during a fire, many animals spend the night in a crate or cage. A simple solution is to place pet alert stickers on the window of rooms where pets can be found. You can also write the number of pets on the sticker so that firefighters know how many to look for.
Securing the Stove
Just like with candles, pets do not understand the danger of a stove. Cats in particular may climb onto countertops, overturning boxes onto lit burners or pawing at knobs to ignite a burner. This can happen even when someone is home, but it is particularly likely when pets are unattended.
An important first step is to keep all combustibles away from burners. Pot holders, tall boxes of cereal, rolls of paper towels, and all kinds of other fuels should be placed far enough away that even the most reckless pet can’t get them to the burners. Covers can be placed over the burners to keep smaller objects from falling into them.
Another very helpful strategy is to remove burner knobs. Most types simply slide off. Others may be secured with a simple set screw. Removing them makes it impossible for pets to turn on the burners accidentally, and you can still use the stove normally by sliding the knob back on when you are cooking something.
Training Your Pet
Pets can go a lot of places that humans can’t access. Their creativity can become even greater when there is a fire because they are scared and confused. Pets that would never go under a bed or into an open kitchen cabinet could do so without hesitation during a fire.
Instead of trying to keep pets from reacting to their fear instincts, condition them to react appropriately when you tell them to. Teach dogs to come to your voice. Use the standard training techniques of rewards and praise. In this way, you can condition them to react when you are calling for them to escape from a fire.
Of course, cats are a different story. They are unlikely to change their plans for any reason! A different approach is necessary for feline family members. A favorite toy or the sound of the food dish being filled have a better chance of inspiring your cats to make their own decision to exit the home when you suggest it to them.
Protecting Young Pets
Of course, you can only train a pet at a certain age, and even then it takes time for them to get the hang of what you’re teaching them. When you have young pets in the home who don’t understand pet doors, aren’t leash-broken, and won’t respond to your commands, you need a different approach.
Pets who are still learning the ropes are best protected in a crate or cage. Not only will this contain them and make it easier to find them during a fire, it will also contribute to the overall training process. A clean cage stocked with food and training pads or a litter box and placed near a door will be a reliable way to know exactly where your youngest companions are if a fire breaks out.
Of course, don’t endanger yourself with this arrangement. Crates can block your own escape, so keep them just to the side of doors.
Facilitating Rescue
Pets can become very frightened or excited when a fire breaks out. They are seeing, hearing, and smelling strange things, and to top it all off, a firefighter–a strangely-dressed human that your pet has never seen before–is trying to grab them and carry them out of the home.
Your cat or dog will probably not cooperate with firefighters. That is why you need to do everything you can to simplify their work. Keep leashes hanging near the main door of the home. If rescuers can just get your pets on their leashes, that should be enough to get them out the door.
To make things even easier in a rescue, keep pet cages and crates near a door when no one is home. It can take a long time for firefighters to search the entire house for pets, especially when there is no one around to direct them. Having the entire pet family secured near an exit will make them easier to find when fire crews make entry. They’ll be able to retrieve your pets quickly and then get to work on extinguishing the fire.
Our pets are just like family. We love them and value them just as much as we love and value our blood relatives. However, pets are not people, and they can’t be taught fire prevention or how to escape from a fire the same way that we can. For their safety, we must make sure to minimize the hazards in the home and to set things up in a way that will provide for their quick, effective rescue when firefighters arrive, whether or not we’re there to help.
- https://homesafetydot.com/fire-safety/
- https://homesafetydot.com/article-sitemap-1-61cc84/
- https://homesafetydot.com/article-sitemap-2-de7bff/
- https://homesafetydot.com/article-sitemap-3-eb4e4a/
- https://homesafetydot.com/article-sitemap-4-e75eb4/