Pet fire safety is all about prevention, preparation and planning. Keeping pets protected during a fire is a real concern for many pet owners. Every year, 500,000 pets suffer from smoke inhalation and 40,000 lose their lives in home fires, the American Veterinary Medical Association reports. Developing a fire safety plan that includes your pet is a great way to be proactive and experience less panic if a fire does threaten your home and loved ones.
How to Prevent your Pet from Starting Fires
A study by the National Fire Protection Association reveals that pets themselves are responsible for starting over 1,000 fires each year. This means that pet owners need to take extra precaution and focus on fire prevention, much like a parent does with their children.
Here are some tips on pet-proofing your daily life to prevent your pet from accidentally starting a fire:
- Closely monitor pets around open flames. – Keeping a close eye on your pets around an open fire, or when you have a candle burning, can help prevent an accident. It is also imperative to never leave open flames unattended, just a few seconds could mean a major fire outbreak.
- Remove or protect stove knobs. – Using stove knob covers or completely removing knobs is a great way to reduce the risk of your pet accidentally causing a fire. Stoves and cooking appliances are on the top of the list when it comes to where pets cause fires the most.
- Secure pets when away. – Keep pets in an area where there is the least risk of them being able to cause a fire. You can install gates that keep pets out of high-risk areas like the kitchen.
Help Firefighters Find Your Pet
Creating a fire safety plan for your pet creates an extra level of protection so that if an emergency does occur, you can act quickly. An effective animal safety plan ensures that your pet will be safe from harm, even when you’re not around to protect them.
Here are some tips pet owners should consider to help rescue workers find pets if there is an emergency:
- Install pet rescue alert stickers in plain sight. – When emergency responders arrive, pet rescue alert stickers let them know that they need to rescue an animal. Placing them on windows and doors is an important component of creating your animal safety plan.
- Include information on your pet’s favorite hiding places. – Many animals love to nap and hide in hidden spaces, like under beds. Noting these places in your animal safety plan will help emergency crews know where to look.
- Install monitored smoke detectors. – If a fire occurs when your pet is home alone, even if the alarms are going off, they would likely have no way to escape. Having a reliable monitored fire and smoke detection system can help save your pets life and keep your family safe.
For more information and help designing a security plan to protect your home, family and pets, contact ADS.
Categories: Fire, Pets, Safety Tips
