Last summer, I shared our experience with what we thought was a house fire. Fortunately, it wasn’t, but it brought to mind having a
and definitely brings to mind these tips to reduce the risk of a house fire.

Ways to Reduce the Risk of a House Fire

1. Be sure to test your smoke detector every month.
2. Keep lighters and matches out of reach of children.
3. Do not add gasoline to a fire. Any fire. A bonfire or a grill.
4. Keep an eye on cords. If they are frayed or broken, they need to be replaced or thrown away.
5. Store gasoline and other flammables in tight metal containers.
6. Don’t use flammable liquids near heat, a pilot light or while smoking.
7. Don’t store things near the furnace or heater.
8. Get rid of stored newspaper or other rubbish. Newspapers stored in a damp, warm place may ignite spontaneously.
9. Oily, greasy rags should be kept in labeled and sealed non-glass containers, preferably metal.
10. Keep all chemicals, paints, etc. in their original containers.
11. Unplug electronics and appliances when not in use.
12. Do not overload power strips or outlets.
13. Keep chemicals away from heat sources. This includes plastic bottles as well as aluminum containers. Plastic melts and the aluminum containers can explode.
14. In general, keep heat sources and open flames free of objects.
15. Do not leave candles unattended. Personally, I have banned candles from our home until the kids are older and we don’t have pets. With a 3 year old, 7 year old, 10 year old, 2 cats and a dog; that is asking for a fire!
16. Keep space heaters free of objects.
17. Your dryer! Many people know to clean the lint screen with every use, but how often do you check the rest of your dryer for lint? Be sure to check the vent that leads from the dryer indoors to the vent outdoors.
18. Keep the stove top clear off objects when in use.
19. Wear tight clothing when cooking.
20. If you have children, use the back burners when possible.
21. Clean up the stove. Crumbs and grease left behind on the stove or in the oven, can create a fire when next in use.
22. Do not leave a stove unattended when in use.
23. Additionally, turn the stove off when not in use.
24. Do not leave things covering the stove top burners when using the oven. When the oven is in use, the excess heat typically is released through one of the back burners.
25. Do not pour water over a grease fire.
26. Purchase and install FireAvert.

FireAvert is a device that you plug the oven cord into and then plug into the outlet. We were fortunate to receive one for review.

Installation for the device is easy. Turn off the breaker to the oven/stove; unplug the oven/stove from the outlet; plug the oven/stove cord into the FireAvert; plug the FireAvert into the outlet; turn the breaker back on. BAM. Installed.

Once it is installed, you won’t need to do anything with again (of course unless you move, you will want to take it with you.)

It doesn’t run on batteries so you don’t need to worry about replacing them. When the FireAvert is ‘tripped’, you just reset the breaker to reset the FireAvert.

What Is

Fire Avert protects your home from stove fires day and night! The best way to prevent or stop a stove fire is by simply turning off the stove before there is any fire, and that is exactly what Fire Avert does. Fire Avert intelligently turns off the stove before there is any fire. Fire Avert is continually monitoring for the sound of your smoke alarm. When your smoke alarm sounds from food left on the stove, Fire Avert will turn off the stove before there is any fire. This concept has been tested and proven by professionals around the country for being the best way to prevent or stop a stove fire.

There is a 30 second delay between the smoke alarm sounding and the stove turning off, meaning if you accidentally ‘trip’ the FireAvert, you can turn off the smoke alarm or remove the smoke from the house prior to your oven turning off.

According to
; every 3.5 minutes a stove fire is reported. Cooking on an electric stove is the #1 cause of home fires in the US with 500 people losing their lives every year from these fires. 5,000 people are severely injured from these fires every year.

Imagine that just this one device can reduce the amount of stove fires; the amount of people losing their lives; the amount of people injured due to a stove fire.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have learned
and will ensure that we have one in ever home we have from here on out.