Chapter 3

Safety and Preparedness

In This Chapter

Preventing household fires

Protecting your home with smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers

Being prepared for general emergencies

Gas line maintenance tips

Tightening up security

Garage door and electrical safety

I n this chapter, we offer time-honored, proven safety practices blended with a host of new innovations, contemporary concepts, and the very best of today’s high-tech electronic wizardry. When used all together, these measures ensure greater peace of mind for homeowners.

Practicing Fire Safety

Fire has been a number one household danger ever since the day, many eons ago, when our prehistoric ancestors got the idea of bringing fire indoors for cave heating and dinosaur cooking. Since then, accidents and total household destructions have occurred due to misunderstanding, miscalculations, and misuse of this powerful force of nature.

The following points are worth noting with regard to residential fires:

Careless smoking is the leading cause of residential fire deaths.

25 percent of fires with child fatalities are caused by children playing with fire.

Household fire hazards include overloaded electrical circuits, faulty wiring, unsafe appliances, wood- and coal-burning stoves and furnaces, electric and kerosene space heaters, unattended fireplaces, and the careless use of lighters and matches, especially by children.

Only you can prevent fires

So what’s your best defense against this household killer? Your best defense is quite simple — good old common sense:

Exercise great care with all flammable materials, including fabrics (like drapes and furniture) near high heat sources (like stoves, space heaters, and open fireplaces) and especially combustible liquids (like solvents, cleaners, and fuels) — when both using and storing them.

Don’t overload electrical circuits or put too great a burden on individual outlets or lightweight extension cords. Overloading causes overheating, which leads to wire fatigue and a possible fire. Dimming or flickering lights, a power cord that’s warm or hot to the touch, and fuses that repeatedly burn out or breakers in the electrical panel that frequently trip are sure signs of an overloaded circuit.

Don’t use bulbs with a higher wattage than a lamp or fixture is rated for because the lamp can seriously overheat. Most modern light fixtures and lamps have a label on the fixture that rates the maximum recommended bulb wattage for that fixture. If you can’t find the label, bring the lamp or information on the fixture to a lighting store for recommendations on the wattage of bulb that should be used.

Watch for faulty electronic equipment, malfunctioning appliances, frayed electrical cords, flickering lights, or fuses that blow and circuit breakers that trip repeatedly — they’re all potential fire hazards.

Never smoke cigarettes, cigars, or pipes in bed — or when you’re tired or lying down.

Make sure that any ashes have cooled before you throw them away. Many fires are started by the careless dumping of ashes that are not fully extinguished. This includes ashes from ashtrays, fireplaces, and barbeques. Hot embers can smolder undetected in the trash for hours before igniting.

Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from flammable items. Only buy units with tip-over shut-off switches and never operate one while sleeping.

Smoke alarms: Gotta have ’em

A smoke alarm is considered to be one of the least expensive, most popular, and best forms of life protection insurance you can buy. A working smoke detector doubles your chance of surviving a fire by warning you of a dangerous situation before it’s too late.

For minimum coverage, have at least one smoke detector or alarm on every level of your home and in every sleeping area. You can also add alarms to hallways outside every bedroom, the top and bottom of all stairways, and often-forgotten places such as basements, attics, utility rooms, and garages.

Smoke detectors can be either

Battery-operated: These inexpensive units can easily be installed anywhere. They require frequent inspection to determine the condition of the battery.

AC-powered: Installed by an electrician (or those with a good working knowledge of electricity), these units are much more dependable over the long haul due to their direct-wired power source. But they should have an independent battery backup so that they continue to operate during a blackout or an electrical fire that temporarily interrupts power.

Some newer models have a hush-button feature that silences a nuisance false alarm and desensitizes the unit for a few minutes until the air clears, when it resets itself. Other high-end models have safety lights that come on when the alarm is activated.

Dealing with fire emergencies

After a smoke detector sounds — whether night or day — a quick response and preplanned actions are your two best lifesavers.

Before opening any doors, look for smoke seeping around edges and feel the surface with your hand. The doorknob is another reliable indicator as to whether fire exists on the other side because metal conducts heat faster and more efficiently than wood does.

If it feels safe, open the door slowly and be prepared to close it quickly if heat and smoke rush in. Don’t stop to get dressed, find pets, or collect valuables. Wasted seconds can cost lives. Gather only family members and exit immediately. If smoke is extremely dense, crawl on your knees and keep your mouth covered with a towel or cloth, if possible.

Families should develop and rehearse a home escape plan, with two ways out of every room. Store a fold-up fire escape ladder in every second-floor bedroom. Also include plans for a designated meeting place where everyone should gather once safely outside. After you’re out, stay put until help arrives and never re-enter the house under any circumstances.

Rehearse your family escape plan regularly. After everyone knows what to do, perform run-throughs with your eyes closed — simulating darkness or smoke-filled passages — counting and memorizing the number of steps to each and every turn and ultimately to safety.

PASSing on a fire

If you ever need to use a fire extinguisher, use the PASS method:

Pull the pin.

Aim at the base of the fire.

Squeeze the handle.

Sweep the base of the fire from side to side, starting with the closest edge and working away from yourself.

Testing alarms and detectors

All smoke detectors and alarms have a test button that, when pushed, causes the alarm to sound. Also, most detectors have either a blinking or a solid light that glows to let you know that the alarm is getting power.

Once a month, get up on a chair or use a broom handle for extra reach and push the test button. If you don’t hear anything, then your battery is dead. If after changing the battery, the smoke detector is still not working, immediately replace it with a new one.

The button test ensures that the batteries are working. However, it doesn’t tell you whether the detector is operating properly. To find out, put two or three lighted matches together (the wood kitchen type is best) and then blow out the flame, holding the matches so that the smoke wafts up toward the unit.

While battery-operated units have a built-in device that chirps when batteries get low, signaling the need for replacement, common wisdom dictates not waiting until that point. Batteries should be replaced twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall.

Never remove a battery from your smoke alarm for use in another item, such as a radio, toy, or TV remote. Many people do so with every intention of replacing them in short order, only to remember that they forgot while standing and watching their house burn down (if they were lucky enough to awaken and escape in time).

While you’re up checking your battery every month, also brush or vacuum the alarm to keep dirt and dust out of the mechanism. Never use cleaning sprays or solvents that can enter the unit and contaminate sensors.

Replacing alarms and detectors

After a period of ten years, a smoke detector has endured more than 87,000 hours of continuous operation, during which time the internal sensors have probably become contaminated with dust, dirt, and air pollutant residues. If your alarm or detector is more than ten years old, consider replacing it to maintain optimal detection capabilities of deadly smoke in your home.

Fire extinguishers

Most fires start out small. Often, they can easily and quickly be put out if you have a working fire extinguisher readily at hand. Manufacturers of home safety products recommend having one fire extinguisher for every 600 square feet of living area. The kitchen, garage, and basement each should have an extinguisher of its own. Keep one in your car, as well.

Fire extinguishers are rated according to force and how much firefighting agent they contain — both of which determine how long the extinguisher operates when it’s used and discharged. With most home extinguishers, the duration is short — so quick action and good aim are important factors in quenching flames while a fire is still in its early stage. (See the sidebar “PASSing on a fire” for tips on using fire extinguishers.)

Always purchase fire extinguishers with pressure gauges. Check the pressure gauge at least once each month to ensure that it’s ready for use at all times. If the fire extinguisher pressure is low and the model can’t be recharged, dispose of it and replace it with a new unit.

Under no circumstances should you test the extinguisher by pulling the pin and squeezing the trigger. Doing so can result in premature loss of pressure.

Preventing Carbon Monoxide Danger in the Home

Carbon monoxide (CO) is the number one cause of poisoning deaths in America. CO is an invisible, odorless, poisonous gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fuel — such as gasoline, kerosene, propane, natural gas, oil, and even wood fires. In concentrated form, CO can be fatal when inhaled — killing in minutes or hours, depending on the level of CO in the air. In smaller doses, CO produces a wide range of flulike symptoms ranging from red eyes, dizziness, and headaches to nausea, fatigue, and upset stomach. One telltale sign of mild CO poisoning is flu symptoms without a fever.

Typical sources of CO in homes are malfunctioning gas furnaces, gas stoves, water heaters, clothes dryers, and even improperly vented fireplaces. Other major dangers include using a generator in or too near your home, cooking or heating with a barbeque unit indoors during a power outage, and letting a car run in a garage or carport where exhaust fumes can collect and enter the home. Many of today’s energy-efficient, “tight” homes minimize outside air exchange and cross-ventilation, giving CO no chance to exit after it enters the home.

There are CO detectors and combination CO and smoke detectors for the home. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that every home with a fuel-burning appliance of any kind be equipped with a least one CO detector.

If you have only one unit, place it in the hall outside the bedroom area of your home. Invisible CO in concentrated form is even less likely to awaken a sleeper than thick toxic smoke.

While heat and smoke rise toward the ceiling, CO wafts through a room like perfume — only you can’t smell or see it. Place CO detectors from 14 inches off the floor to face height on the wall and never near a draft, such as a window, doorway, or stairwell.

As with smoke alarms, CO detectors can be battery operated, hard-wired-mounted directly onto an electrical wall outlet, or plugged into an electrical cord, allowing units to sit on a shelf or tabletop. Units that plug into a direct power source should have an independent battery backup in case of a power failure.

Your CO detector should have a digital display with memory that indicates and records a problem, even when it’s too small to trigger the alarm. A normal low level of CO in a home is zero. Nada, zilch, zip. However, even a small reading — such as 25, 30, or 35 parts per million — indicates a problem that could escalate.

The care and maintenance of CO detectors is basically the same as for smoke alarms. (See the section “Smoke alarms” earlier in this chapter for more information.) However, unlike using kitchen matches to test a smoke alarm, a carbon monoxide detector can’t be tested using an outside source. Therefore, it’s imperative that the test buttons provided on the equipment be tested at least once each month.

Additionally, have your heating system, vents, chimney, and flue inspected (and cleaned if necessary) by a qualified technician. Always vent fuel-burning appliances.

Other important maintenance procedures include checking and correcting any signs that indicate potential CO problems, such as

A noticeably decreasing hot water supply

A furnace that runs constantly but doesn’t heat your house

Soot collecting on, under, and around any appliance

An unfamiliar burning odor

A loose or missing furnace panel or vent pipe

Damaged brick, chimney discoloration, or a loose-fitting chimney pipe

Guarding Your Home against Natural Disasters

Natural emergencies can befall the average home and family without warning, anywhere in the world. Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, mudslides, blizzards, tidal waves, lightning, squalls, gales, downpours, monsoons, typhoons, whirlwinds, and zephyrs can come out of nowhere and cause substantial damage to a home. Although you can’t do anything about the weather, you can be prepared for such emergencies, which may save your life and avert damage to your home.

Shoring up your castle

The same things you do to maintain your home every day pull double duty because they also can prepare your home for a natural disaster. The best defense against becoming a victim of an earthquake, fire, flood, snowstorm, tornado, or other natural disaster is a strong offense — keeping your home in tip-top shape.

For example, maintaining your roof can prevent shingles from being blown off and a roof leak from occurring. Well-sealed masonry can prevent freeze-and-thaw damage brought about by bone-chilling cold. Plumbing pipe heaters can prevent hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage caused by a burst pipe due to freezing.

How strong is your offense?

Reacting appropriately in the face of disaster

When your castle comes under siege from any of Mother Nature’s natural marauders, three defensive maneuvers should take place in rapid succession:

Go to your safe place. Have a safe place in your home, such as a windowless room in the basement, ready and stock it with emergency survival supplies, including first aid equipment, a radio, bottled water, and emergency food provisions.

Stay in your safe place until you get the all clear. That’s why you need a portable radio with functioning batteries! A portable or cellular phone (with extra batteries) also comes in handy at this stage.

Check for damage. Following any major disaster, first check the status and well-being of your family members and neighbors. Then begin a thorough home inspection to ascertain any damage that may create larger problems.

Check especially for damaged power lines and dangerous gas leaks, which can cause fire and explosions. Then check for electrical system damage and downed power lines. If you see sparks, note exposed wiring, or smell overheated insulation on wiring, shut off the electricity at the main circuit breaker or fuse box. If water is present, be careful not to make contact if you suspect that it may be electrically charged.

Also check for any damage to water pipes and sewer drain lines. If they’re damaged, turn off the main water supply valve, avoid drinking tap or well water, and don’t flush toilets or drain water into tubs and sinks.

Well in advance of any natural emergency, you should know where your valves and circuit breakers are located. Make sure that you know how to turn off all major supply lines, and show your family members how to do so, too. Many hardware stores and home centers sell an inexpensive combination dual-emergency wrench designed specifically for quick gas and water shutoffs.

Putting things back together

Follow these general guidelines for getting back underway after an emergency:

Deal cautiously with structural damage, watching for physical dangers, ranging from broken glass and nails to water and wet surfaces that may be electrically charged after power resumes. According to the American Red Cross, the number two flood killer after drowning is electrocution. Electrical current can travel through water. Report downed power lines to your utility company or emergency management office.

Use a flashlight to inspect for damage. Don’t smoke or use candles, lanterns, or open flames, unless you know the gas has been turned off and the area has been aired out.

Prevent deadly carbon monoxide poisoning by using a generator or other gasoline-powered machine outdoors. The same goes for camping stoves and charcoal grills.

Some appliances, such as televisions, keep electrical charges even after they have been unplugged. Don’t use appliances or motors that have gotten wet unless they’ve been taken apart, cleaned, and dried.

Watch for snakes and wild animals that have been flooded out of their homes and may seek shelter in yours.

Discard contaminated foods and kitchen and bath products.

Boil drinking water until you’re absolutely sure that it’s safe.

Pump out flooded areas in your home as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage to the house’s frame.

Pump out flooded basements slowly over the course of several days to prevent the basement walls from caving in due to the excessive pressure being placed on the walls from water-logged soil on the opposite side.

If hardwood floors get soaked, mop up excess water and debris immediately and dry the floors slowly to reduce warping. Don’t use heat for drying. Open windows and doors and allow finishes to air-dry. Rent a high-volume fan such as those used by professional carpet cleaners to hasten the drying process.

Drying finishes out too quickly can cause warping, buckling, and cracking that can be avoided if finishes are allowed to air-dry more slowly.

If carpeting gets soaked, don’t remove it while it’s wet — doing so can cause tearing. Instead, pick up excess water with a wet/dry vac or carpet cleaning machine, slowly peel back wet carpet, and discard the padding. Then set up a box fan or two to dry the area completely. In most cases, carpets can be cleaned and reused; just the padding needs to be replaced.

Have a professional check all plumbing and service your septic tank, if you have one.

Call your insurance agent to begin the claims process.

For more information about disaster preparedness and recovery, visit the Web site of the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org .

Additional emergency measures

When dealing with an emergency situation, after immediate dangers are dealt with and relatively under control, take photos to record all damage to your home and its contents for insurance purposes. All too often, taking photos only comes to mind once cleanup and repairs are well underway.

Also, keep emergency gear close at hand, including a pair of sturdy shoes (to prevent injuries from rubble and broken glass), heavy socks, heavy work gloves, and clothing for keeping warm and dry for an extended period, both day and night.

Emergency preparedness also includes put- ting together a full first-aid kit with a manual instructing you how to deal with most major situations and injuries step-by-step. Check this kit twice a year for expiration dates and freshness of the products it contains. Also, watch for free first-aid training classes in your area, often sponsored by local organizations, hospitals, or police and fire departments.

Immediately after a natural disaster, the power is often out. Thus your emergency preparedness should also include provisions for both portable and self-contained lighting, including flashlights, extra batteries, candles, a disposable butane lighter, and waterproof matches.

Playing It Safe with Gas Lines

Of all emergency preparedness topics, gas lines deserve extra consideration — both in the event of natural disasters and for day-to-day living. If not properly installed, monitored, and maintained, natural gas is without question the most potentially dangerous item in your home. Gas can cause instant flash fires and devastating explosions that can result from negligence and carelessness.

Don’t pour concrete or put asphalt around the rigid gas delivery pipe leading to the meter. This pipe must remain in soft, pliable dirt to ride out any seismic activity safely.

An exposed gas meter is always susceptible to being damaged or dislodged by contact. For protection from housework and gardening and to keep gas meters near driveways and sidewalks from being hit, place two heavy metal pipes in concrete (much like you would set a fencepost) in front of and on both sides of the gas meter.

To keep the gas line shutoff wrench easily accessible in a gas emergency, attach it to the main line at the shutoff valve with a piece of chain and a hose clamp. If you ever have to close the main gas valve, rotate the bar on the valve only one-quarter turn so that it runs across the gas line (closed) rather than parallel to it (open).

Inspect all gas line connections in your home. Those leading to appliances, furnaces, and water heaters should be only corrugated stainless steel or new epoxy-coated flexible connectors with shutoff valves where they meet the solid gas delivery lines (unless the manufacturer or local building codes specify otherwise).

Always call before you dig. Many types of underground lines serve your home, ranging from gas and electricity to water, telephone, and cable TV — and they’re often only a few feet beneath the surface. So before you dig a ditch, sink a fencepost, or plant a tree or shrub, call your local utility companies for location information.

Maintaining Burglar Alarms

Not all household dangers derive from natural forces. You also need to take measures to protect your home against those who would storm the castle, scale the proverbial stone walls, and plunder the family jewels.

Have properly installed solid and secure window and door locks strong enough to deter the average burglar. Then be sure to use them. Sounds too mundane and simple, you say? Police report that 50 percent of all home burglaries are due to windows or doors being left unlocked.

One of the best ways to determine whether your home is secure from potential intruders is to lock yourself out and try to get in without using your house key. You’ll either be surprised at how easy it is to gain entry, or you’ll feel relieved at how tough it is to get into your Fort Knox. During this exercise, be on the lookout for loose doorknobs and deadlocks and shaky windows and doors (including the garage door).

Many break-ins can be averted. A number of whole-house alarm systems are available today, and — just as with smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors — they need occasional testing, checking, and tuning up. Most systems include a failsafe battery backup, which needs checking and replacing at regular intervals — at least twice annually. Many systems also have a fire-sensing capability that must be checked and maintained as outlined in “Smoke alarms” earlier in this chapter.

Most systems have a keypad for indicating system operation and points of intrusion, and a horn or siren installed indoors (in the attic) or outside under an overhang or eave. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for maintaining and checking these features at specified intervals — pay particular attention to all points that signal an intrusion when contact is broken.

Make sure that sensitivity levels are properly set to avoid both frequent false alarms (that eventually go unheeded) and a system that doesn’t respond properly when it should.

Before ordering and installing an alarm, check with local law enforcement agencies to see if any restrictions or special ordinances apply to alarms in your area. Most police departments discourage homeowners from installing a dialer-type alarm system that automatically calls the police or sheriff’s department when activated. They find that when a major disaster takes place, this type of alarm swamps incoming lines that are needed to field calls for specific individual emergency situations. A good alternative is to have your alarm monitored by a central reporting agency. Thus, if a false alarm occurs, the police or sheriff won’t be summoned, and you’ll be off the hook for a false alarm fee and the embarrassment of having the cops show up at your home only to find you in your bathrobe collecting the morning paper.

Keeping Automatic Garage-Door Openers in Working Order

As with all mechanical components in a home, an automatic garage-door opener requires periodic maintenance to ensure safe and efficient operation. In fact, because a garage door is often the heaviest and largest single piece of moving equipment around a home, frequent testing and maintenance are especially important.

One of the best resources for garage-door maintenance is the owner’s manual. Lubrication requirements and adjustment details are typically found in this manual. If you don’t have an owner’s manual, you can usually order a replacement copy by contacting an installing dealer or the manufacturer. Some manufacturers even make owner’s manuals available on the Internet. All you need is the brand and model number.

An inspection of the garage-door springs, cables, rollers, and other door hardware is a great place to begin. Look for signs of wear and for frayed or broken parts. A handy do-it-yourselfer can perform most minor repairs, such as roller replacement, but a qualified garage-door service technician should handle the more complicated tasks. The springs and related hardware are under high tension and can cause severe injury if handled improperly.

Rollers, springs, hinges, and tracks require periodic lubrication. Use spray silicone, lightweight household oil, or white lithium grease according to the instructions in your owner’s manual.

Periodically test the balance of the door. Start with the door closed. Disconnect the automatic opener release mechanism so that the door can be operated by hand. The door should lift smoothly and with little resistance. It should stay open around 3 to 4 feet above the floor. If it doesn’t, it’s out of balance and should be adjusted by a professional.

In addition to extending its life, monthly inspection and testing of the automatic opener can prevent serious injuries and property damage. Careless operation and allowing children to play with or use garage-door opener controls are dangerous situations that can lead to tragic results. A few simple precautions can protect your family and friends from potential harm.

Never stand or walk under a moving door. Don’t let children play “beat the door.” Keep transmitters and remote controls out of the reach of children and teach them that they aren’t toys. The push-button wall control should be out of the reach of children (at least 5 feet from the floor) and away from all moving parts. The button should always be mounted where you can clearly see the door in full operation.

Test the force setting of the opener by holding up the bottom of the door as it closes. If the door doesn’t reverse readily, the force is excessive and needs adjusting. The owner’s manual will explain how to adjust the force sensitivity.

To avoid entrapment, perform the 1-inch reversing test after any repairs or adjustments are made to the garage door or opener. Simply place a 2-x-4-inch block of wood flat on the floor in the door’s path before activating the door. If the door fails to stop immediately and reverse when it strikes the wood, disconnect the opener and use the door manually until the system can be repaired or replaced.

Since April 1982, federal law has required that a closing garage door that’s operated by an automatic opener must reverse off of a 2-inch block. Even with the safety improvements resulting from this legislation, injuries continue to occur, and safety is still an issue. Consequently, a second law enacted in 1993 requires that a garage-door opener must be equipped with a monitored non-contact safety reversing device or safety edge that stops and reverses a closing garage door. An example of such a safety device is an electronic beam sensor that’s installed at either side of the door opening, which, when broken, causes the door to stop and reverse itself.

A second safety feature is a pressure-sensitive electronic rubber strip that attaches to the bottom of the door where it makes contact with the floor. As with the beam sensor, when engaged, this safety edge causes the door to stop and reverse itself, avoiding injury or damage to property.

Here are some of the most common garage door opener problems and their solutions:

If the opener raises but won’t close the door, the safety beam sensor may be faulty, misaligned, or unplugged.

An opener that operates by remote control but not by the wall switch is a sign of a short in the wiring or a loose connection at the switch.

A remote control that doesn’t work may be something as simple as a weak or dead transmitter battery, an antenna wire on the opener that isn’t properly exposed, or a dead transmitter.

If the opener is operating but the door doesn’t open, the problem may be due to a worn gear or chain-drive sprocket, a broken chain, or the door disengaging from the operator.

A faulty transmitter, a short in the wall switch, a faulty circuit board, or a stray signal (which is very rare) can cause an opener to operate by itself.

If the remote control only operates the door when it’s located 25 feet or less from the opener, the battery in the remote is weak or the signal is poor.

A door that reverses while closing or that doesn’t completely open or close is usually obstructed or binding. This condition can also be caused when the open limit or sensitivity is set wrong.

A straining opener usually occurs when safety reversing is activated or the close limit is set improperly.

Maintaining Electrical Safety

Leave most electrical work to a qualified electrician. A professional electrician gives you the power you need to keep from blowing a fuse of your own. It’s time to call an electrician when you see any of the following signs:

Habitually flickering lights

A breaker that repeatedly pops

A fuse that repeatedly burns out

Any of these signs can mean a loose connection or a circuit that’s overloaded, which can cause a house fire.

Testing Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters

The Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) was developed to help keep people from getting shocked. The easiest way to think of a GFCI is to remember that a normal circuit breaker protects property, while a GFCI protects people.

When a short or ground fault occurs, the GFCI detects it. Any variation indicates that some of the current is going where it’s not supposed to go and is creating a shock hazard. When this occurs, the GFCI trips in one-fortieth of a second — a short enough period that most healthy people aren’t injured.

GFCIs should be installed at all receptacles within 4 feet of a sink, at all exterior and garage receptacles, and at all electric fixtures over showers and tubs.

All GFCI receptacles have test buttons. Test each GFCI receptacle in your home at least once a month. If the test doesn’t trip the breaker, replace the GFCI immediately.