Home Safety Checklist

  • Are fueling-burning space heaters and appliances properly installed and used?

  • Are all space heaters placed away from traffic? Are children and elderly persons cautioned to keep their clothing away?

  • Has the family been cautioned not to use flammable liquids, like gasoline, to start or freshen a fire (or for cleaning purposes)?

  • Is the fireplace equipped with a metal fire screen or heat-tempered glass doors?

  • Since portable gas and oil heater in fireplaces use up oxygen as they burn, do you provide proper ventilation when they are in use?

  • Are proper clearances provided between space heaters and curtains, bedding, furniture?

  • Do you stop members of your household from smoking in bed?

  • Do you check up after others to see that no cigarette butts are lodged in upholstered furniture where they can smolder unseen at night?

  • Are matches and lighters kept away from small children?

  • Do you dispose of smoking materials carefully (not in waste baskets) and keep large, safe ashtrays wherever people smoke?

  • Do you have a qualified electrician install or extend your wiring?

  • Are there enough electrical outlets in every room and special circuits for heavy-duty appliances such as space heaters and air conditioners?

  • Are all electrical cords out in the open—not run under rugs, over hooks, or through door openings? Are they checked routinely for wear?

  • Is the right size fuse in each socket in the fuse box and do you replace a fuse with one the same size?

  • Children get burned climbing on the stove to reach an item overhead. Do you store cookies, cereal, or other "bait," away from the stove?

  • Do you keep your basement, closets, garage, and yard, clear of combustibles like papers, cartons, old furniture, or old rags?

  • Are gasoline and other flammable liquids stored in safety cans (never glass jugs, discarded bleach bottles, or other makeshift containers) and away from heat, sparks, and children?

  • Is paint kept in tightly-closed metal containers?

  • Are furnace, stove, and smoke pipes far enough from combustible walls and ceilings, and in good repair?

  • Is the heating equipment checked yearly by a serviceman?

  • Is the chimney cleaned and checked regularly?

  • For safety against chimney and other sparks, is the roof covering fire retardant?

  • Do all your appliances carry the seal of a testing laboratory?

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