Common causes of house fires – and how to prevent them

A house fire is one of the most horrifying calamities a homeowner can experience. A blaze can cause catastrophic damage in a matter of minutes, destroy priceless mementos, and threaten the lives of any occupants.

Thankfully, many residential fires are preventable. By understanding the most common causes of these disasters and taking the necessary precautions, you can vastly reduce the chances of your property going up in smoke.

COOKING

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking is the leading cause of house fires and injuries caused by these fires. Cooking fires typically occur when the kitchen is left unattended during meal preparation, and most cooking fires start on the stove. If a fire starts while you are out of the room, it can quickly spread before you can fight it on your own.

Hot grease is a common source of ignition. David Beaudrie, writing for the home design site The Spruce, says grease that reaches a temperature of about 600 degrees Fahrenheit can spontaneously combust. The NFPA says flames can easily spread if combustible materials like oven mitts and towels are kept too close to the stove.

Appliances can also sometimes lead to fires. Beaudrie says portable appliances like electric griddles might heat up enough to ignite nearby materials. House Beautiful says fire risk is also heightened if appliances are crowded too close together, allowing more heat to build up.

Never leave the kitchen unattended while cooking, particularly if you are making a dish where grease will be produced. The NFPA says you should turn off the stove even if you just need to leave for a short period of time. When baking, simmering, or otherwise making a meal that requires a longer preparation time, set a timer so you don't forget about the food.

Practice regular cleaning to cut down on combustible materials. Beaudrie says you should thoroughly clean your cookware to prevent grease from building up, and regularly clean potentially flammable materials out of your appliances – such as crumbs in a toaster oven.

If a small fire occurs while cooking, it can often be smothered quickly. The NFPA says the easiest thing to do is to put a lid over a flaming pot and turn off the burner, or turn off the heat and keep the door closed if a fire occurs in the oven.

Since fires can often start in the kitchen, keep a fire extinguisher in the room in an easily accessible area. The Donegal Insurance Group of Marietta, Pa., says the extinguisher should be rated A-B-C to take on all types of blazes. Wolgast Restoration, a Michigan home restoration company, says materials such as salt, baking soda, or flour should not be used to douse a grease fire, since these can cause the flames to flare up.

HEATING

Homeowners seeking to keep their homes at a comfortable temperature during the winter can inadvertently create a hazardous situation. The NFPA says heating equipment accounted for 15 percent of residential fires in the United States between 2012 and 2016, with half of these blazes occurring between December and February.

Keeping a heater too close to flammable materials is a common source of fires caused by heating systems. Beaudrie says space heaters and electric baseboard heaters can easily ignite nearby materials, while heaters that use fuel such as kerosene can catch fire or explode if they are not used properly.

If a fireplace is used for home heating, a layer of flammable creosote will build up on the inside of the chimney over time. This can eventually ignite, with a chimney fire potentially spreading to other parts of the home.

Make sure there's ample space around any home heaters. The NFPA recommends a three-foot buffer zone between any heating equipment, including fireplaces, space heaters, and furnaces.

Make sure fireplaces—including pellet stoves and fireplace inserts—are properly installed and have the necessary safeguards. Open fireplaces should have a screen to block sparks and embers, and ashes should be allowed to cool thoroughly before being removed to a metal container stored a safe distance from the home. The chimney should be professionally cleaned at least once a year.

Follow all instructions on portable space

heaters, and look for a model with safety features such as an automatic shutoff that will be activated if the device tips over. Beaudrie says you should also inspect them regularly to see if they are in good condition.

Central heating equipment is rarely to blame for residential fires, but it never hurts to be cautious. Donna Boyle Schwartz, writing for the home improvement professional Bob Vila, says an annual inspection will ensure that the system is working properly.

ELECTRICAL

Faulty wiring is the third most common cause of house fires, according to the NFPA, though fires sparked by this source also caused the most substantial property damage. Beaudrie says electrical fires are commonly caused by short circuits that ignite building materials or overloaded circuits that cause wiring to get too hot.

Electrical fires can also be caused by an outdated electrical system or unsafe practices. House Beautiful says major appliances should be plugged into their own outlets, not a shared power strip. You should also never connect multiple extension cords or use frayed or otherwise damaged electrical cords. Wolgast Restoration says the risk of an electrical fire is heightened if you use an older appliance, run cords under rugs or other heavily trafficked areas, or plug too many devices into a single outlet.

Make sure your home's electrical system is up to date with the recommended safety features. The NFPA says these include arcfault circuit interrupters to cut off electricity and prevent short circuits. Electrical work should be completed by a licensed professional.

Periodically inspect the cords on appliances and other devices to look for damage. Schwartz says any worn or damaged cords should immediately be replaced.

Be safe when using the outlets in your home. Never overload an outlet, and make sure the wattage of your light bulbs does not exceed the recommended wattage of the light fixture.

Look out for any warning signs of trouble with the wiring. Wolgast Restoration says these may include flickering lights, repeatedly tripping breakers, or a suspect odor. Have an electrician inspect the system if you notice any of these issues.

OPEN FLAMES

Smoking materials such as cigarettes and cigars cause a small percentage of house fires, according to the NFPA, but are the leading cause of deaths caused by these incidents. Beaudrie says fires caused by smoking materials are often ignited when embers fall on a flammable item after the smoker falls asleep, resulting in the greater possibility of a fatality.

Smokers can reduce the risk of a house fire by using fire-safe cigarettes, only smoking outdoors, and keeping smoking materials out of the reach of children. If you do smoke indoors, use a deep ashtray, keep smoking materials away from any flammable items, and douse smoking materials in water before discarding them.

Caution should also be used when burning candles in the home. While they add a pleasant ambience to a room, candles can lead to disaster if they fall over or set fire to nearby materials.

The NFPA says candles should be kept in sturdy holders and placed on uncluttered surfaces, at least one foot away from anything that might burn. Don't leave candles unattended or use them in the bedroom, where an occupant might fall asleep without blowing out the flame.

Consider alternatives to candles. You should have a flashlight handy so you can use it instead of an open flame for lighting during a power outage. Beaudrie says there are also flameless battery-powered luminaries that provide the same effect as a candle without the danger.

If medical oxygen is stored in the home, refrain from smoking or using candles indoors.

Certain appliances, such as furnaces and water heaters, have pilot lights that could potentially start a fire. Wolgast Restoration recommends that any flammable materials be kept at least three feet away from these appliances.

FLAMMABLE MATERIALS

Several household materials are combustible, including gasoline used for lawn mowers, propane tanks for grills, paint thinners, and mineral spirits. These materials often pose a serious fire risk because they emit fumes that can travel a long distance and ignite when they encounter a furnace's pilot light or other ignition source.

aspects of real estate require person-to-person interactions, they can still be completed using safeguards like masks and gloves. Twenty-seven percent said they were able to complete nearly all aspects of their real estate transactions while respecting social distancing by using methods such as virtual tours and electronic signatures. Buyers' agents were generally more likely to use these tools than listing agents.

Seventy-one percent said sellers had responded to the pandemic by canceling open houses, while 63 percent said buyers were being asked to take precautions before entering a home for sale. Fifty-five percent and 54 percent said these same precautions were being required of home inspectors and appraisers, respectively.

Forty-one percent said sellers were not permitting in-person showings. Forty-four percent said sellers they relying on virtual tours, while 34 percent were conducting virtual showings and 19 percent were using virtual open houses.

Less common seller responses included completing a home inspection before listing the home for sale (5 percent) and leaving the windows open during showings (4 percent).

Eighteen percent of NAR members said they felt government directives on social distancing were making it a "near impossibility" to complete real estate transactions. Ten percent said they were postponing home searches due to the need for person-to-person meetings.