As the holiday season approaches and families gear up for decorating their homes and hosting gatherings of friends and family, Roger Goranson of SERVPRO® of Marshall, Starke, Pulaski and Fulton Counties reminds homeowners to take note of some sobering statistics about home fire safety from the National Fire Prevention Association:
* Cooking equipment is the leading cause of home structure fires. The three peak days for home cooking fires are Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.1
* Candle fires peak in December. The top three days for candles fires are Christmas Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
“These statistics are a serious reminder of how the excitement of holiday entertaining can quickly turn into a life-altering fire or even a tragic injury or death,” says Goranson.
According to the NFPA, unattended cooking is by far the leading cause of home cooking fires, with frying posing the greatest fire risk and electric ranges posing a higher risk than gas ranges.
While incidents of candle fires peaked in 2001 and have been falling since, candles are still one of the top 10 causes of U.S. home fires, according to the NFPA.
For more fire prevention tips and information about fire and water damage restoration services, please visit www.servpro.com. For more information on SERVPRO® of Marshall, Starke, Pulaski and Fulton Counties, please contact Roger Goranson at (574) 936-5849.
