Search Results for: blog a new way to protect homes from fires

New Year Resolutions For Homeowners

We are almost a full week into 2007… have you broken your New Year’s resolution yet? I have. Oh well. I had resolved to concentrate more on home maintenance, but I can barely muster enough energy to put away the holiday decorations, so you can see what foot I’ve gotten off on… In all seriousness, the first part of the year is an ideal time to develop a strategy for household maintenance, if for no other reason than to prevent costly problems down the road. It’s no secret that designing and implementing a plan to upkeep your home will end … Continue reading →

A New Way To Protect Homes From Fires

October is Fire Prevention Month. It’s a great time to review ways to protect your family and your home from the ravages of a fire. Some ideas include designing a family fire escape plan and installing or checking on smoke detectors in various rooms throughout your home. Another tip—use this month to talk to your children about the dangers of smoking. Did you know fires started by cigarettes kill more than 1,000 people every year in the United States? Yet, there are still people who choose to light up in their homes. Unfortunately, if you have a friend or loved … Continue reading →

Do You Have a Pet Emergency Evacuation Plan?

The spooky incident with my neighbor’s fire yesterday got me to thinking about emergency evacuation plans. Namely, how I don’t have one. Which was something I’d never really considered before. Have you? Sure, I had thought about how to help Murph and the cats if I wasn’t there by posting an I.C.E sticker. But I’d never really considered what I’d do if I was there during the emergency. For some, like my neighbor Cindy, the question isn’t a hypothetical one. She’s got real-life experience in two types of scenarios. One where the danger was imminent and another where it’s urgent … Continue reading →

Cats and Fire Don’t Mix

Between the car accident and my mom’s stroke, I’m ready for things to get back to some level of normalcy. It won’t be today. I had just gotten into the shower when I heard the doorbell ring. Since I was naked and wet, as well as running behind schedule, I figured whoever was ringing would come back. Or call and say they’d tried to stop by. But a few minutes later I heard sirens. A few seconds after that I knew they had turned into our neighborhood, and it didn’t take me even a nanosecond more to realize they’d turned … Continue reading →

Beating the Odds During Wildfire

I have family and friends living in several areas of Southern California. Memories of my past went up in flames during the disaster we have witnessed this week. I know people who have lost everything. My brother faced evacuation Wednesday night. My sister-in-law wasn’t able to come home from work on Tuesday night, the main Interstate 15 was closed. As a child my family lived near Lake Arrowhead. During the early 1980’s my brother and ex-husband did a lot of the electrical construction work on hundreds of homes built in the new community of Rancho Bernardo. One day I hope … Continue reading →

A Warning About Mulch

It wasn’t until my brother’s best friend’s house burned to the ground (the fire investigator said the fire was sparked by lint buildup in the dryer) that I began completing regular maintenance on my dryer. I’m ashamed to admit that it took someone else’s tragedy to raise awareness in my own home. Now it’s happened again. We have been experiencing unusually mild weather (actually, record breaking temperatures in the 80s) in our neck of the woods, which has enticed many homeowners to get a jump start on spring planting and other yard work. Unfortunately, for one local homeowner his efforts … Continue reading →

Week in Review: Home Articles for Oct. 9-15

This week, I decided to split up the articles by author. You can get a better sense of any recurring themes this way and find related articles easier. For example, Michele gave some great advice on organization and Marjorie offered some terrific entertaining and party tips. Apparently, Michele and I were of similar mindsets this week as I too did some organization topics then went onto holiday stuff. As noted previously, I don’t want to simply fill a page with links. Instead, I thought I’d give you the rundown and the link to the first article in each of our … Continue reading →

Firewise Landscaping: Trees

There isn’t much a homeowner can do to reduce their risk of loss caused by earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. When it comes to wildfire however, there are several ways homeowners can protect their homes from fire. Wildfires occur no matter our best efforts and keeping a wildfire away from your home starts with your landscaping. Homeowners may want to talk with their insurance agent or state agricultural college for tips and advice about fire resistant landscaping. In many cases insurance companies will inspect for defensible space and firewise risk management before issuing or renewing a homeowner insurance policy. Trees on … Continue reading →