With the recent hot weather and likely more to come, below are tips that can help you protect your home from a potential wildfire.
Clear and direct access to your home can be crucial in an emergency situation – it affects how both firefighters and other emergency vehicles can find and access your home.
Additional tips for home protection include:
Tip #1
Be sure your address is visible and no brush or trees are blocking it. Keep in mind that during a fire with brush and smoke, this could make it more difficult to read your address so be sure it is in clear view.
Tip #2
If you have a firewood pile close to your home, it should be moved away at a safe distance. Sparks from a wildfire can easily catch in firewood piles and ignite next to the home creating a fuel source for your house to catch on fire.
Tip #3
Keep your lawn watered and be sure it is mowed to 3 inches or less near any structure. A short nicely watered green lawn will be less likely to entertain flames and fire.
Tip #4
If you have any tree branches hitting power lines ask the power company to come out and assess, if branches are touching lines there is a good chance they will remove them for you for free.
Tip #5
Smoke detectors inside the home are a must, make sure all motorized garden equipment such as lawnmowers and chainsaws have approved and properly functioning spark arrestors.
Also, ensure you have a clean roof and gutters. Remove debris before summer as well as clearing back any tree branches that are near the home or touching the roof.
At Hatter, Williams & Purdy Insurance, we want people to be educated on ways to keep homes safe. We hope these simple tips and suggestions help keep your home safe during fire season.
