Home Safety Inspections: Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers are devices commonly found indoors such as houses and office buildings. They usually come in a small red canister and are placed in the most fire prone places such as the kitchen.

Fire extinguishers are very important because they are used to stop or prevent the spread of fire.  Some fire extinguishers can even douse fires water cannot.

Know the Different Types of Fire

To know more on what fire extinguishers to buy and what they can do, it is important to determine first the different fire types.

Class A- This type of fire is a result from common combustible materials such as wood, paper and cloth.

Class B- Class B fire are fires brought about by the combustion of liquid substances such as fuel, kerosene, gasoline and grease.

Class C- Class C fires are caused by electrical disturbances. Fires of this type can be caused by short circuits, exposed electrical wires, power overloads, and exploding circuit breakers.

Class D- fires caused by combustible metals such as sodium, titanium, potassium and magnesium are considered Class D fires. This type of fire is more common in factories and chemical laboratories.

Class K- Class K fires are common fires in the kitchen that are often caused by cooking oil and lard.

Types of Fire Extinguishers

Knowing the different fire types is the first step you should take when buying a fire extinguisher in your home. The next step is to know which type of fire extinguishers to buy for different types of fire. It is best to keep different types of fire extinguishers at home for you’ll never know when a fire will start and what causes it.

Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers

The first type of Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers is those that use ammonium phosphate as the extinguishing agent. This type is commonly called multi purpose dry chemical fire extinguishers and is effective in fighting Class A, B and C fires. Most of these fire extinguishers are found in offices, schools and hospitals.

The other type of Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers is the Regular Dry Chemical fire extinguisher that is best for fire Classes B and C. Regular dry chemical fire extinguishers are best suited for your kitchen or garage.

Carbon Dioxide

These fire extinguishers contain liquid Carbon Monoxide and release it in gas form when used. They are best in fighting fire classes B and C. They are also environmental friendly and do not leave any toxic residue.

Water Extinguishers

They should only be used for Class A fires. These fire extinguishers can even spread the fire if used in fire classes B and D. You might also get electrocuted if you use these on Class C fires.

Wet Chemicals

These are used to combat fires originated from cooking oil and other kitchen materials. They can also be used in Class A fires.

Home Inspectors on Fire Extinguishers

During a home inspection, you certified home inspector should do the following:

• Check the fire extinguisher’s expiry date
• Check the canister for dents and cracks
• Locate a fire extinguisher 30 feet away from the kitchen.
• Make sure that the fire extinguisher is placed in a place that is visible and very accessible.

Your certified home inspector can also give you sound advice where to place your fire extinguishers and what type of fire extinguishers to buy.

For more information about Home Inspections in Los Angeles and the South Bay Area please contact South Bay Home Inspection.  You can also ask for a sample free home inspection report so you’ll know the coverage and things that our expert home inspector will look for when he visits your house.

Things to Do Before a Home Inspection

Home inspections are an important part of home maintenance and keeping our houses safe. Scheduling a home inspection at least a year or two apart is ideal so that you can have experts to look for parts that need to be repaired, replaced or remove.

Certified home inspectors are the best ones to call for advice in terms of home safety because they are qualified in inspecting different parts of the house like your roof, basement and foundation. They also have the knowledge and the tools to check out different utility systems in and around your house such as your water and drainage systems, heater and air conditioning units, gas pipes and electrical wirings.

Most certified home experts are also trained in advising home owners about certain threats such as pests, molds, toxic chemicals, and structural defects and how to deal, eliminate and correct those treats.

For a more complete and accurate home inspections, the home inspectors need your help. You might want to give the home inspector a complete history of your house including when it was built, its improvements and remodeling, problems in the past like flooding, termites, water leaks and others.

Here are some tips hat can help your home inspector come up with the most accurate home inspection results for you and your home.

1. Turn on all your electrical, gas, water and other systems. A turned off systems such as your air-conditioning units can lead the inspector to believe that it is broke.

2. Take out your pets out of the house. Dogs and cats might hinder or disturb the inspector. It is best to place them outside for a while, but don’t forget informing the inspector about owning a dog or a cat.

3. Check out all your light bulbs and replace burnt out ones with new bulbs. A burnt out light bulb might lead the home inspector to record an electrical problem.

4. Clear away things such as furniture, clothes, appliances and others from blocking the HVAC equipments, crawl space, water heaters so that the home inspector has more room to move and more area to see and inspect.

6. It is best to take away debris like soil and dirt, wood piles and others from your house’s foundations. Having them around can lead your inspector to give you a report that saying that the area is conducive for termites and other pests.

7. Keep all the doors unlocked. Locked doors will prevent the home inspector in inspecting what is inside the room. Don’t forget to unlock doors going to your basement, attic and garage.

8. If possible, replace broken parts such as handles, doorknobs and panels so that they would not be cited in the inspection report.

9. It is also best to come with the home inspector as he goes about his rounds. This way, he can tell you what the problem is first hand as well as leading him to some problematic areas inside the house that he might miss out.

10. Only contact trusted certified home inspectors, the best ones are those duly recognized by The American Society of Home Inspectors or ASHI.

For your home inspection needs in the South Bay and Los Angeles area, you can easily contact South Bay Home Inspections.

South Bay Home Inspections also conducts:

• Air and Mold Sampling
• Pool and Spa Inspections

South Bay Home Inspectors is a proud member of:

• The American Society of Home Inspectors or ASHI,
• The American Council for Accredited Certification or ACAC and
• The International Code Council or ICC

How to Child Proof Your House

Houses should be installed with safety features and devices so that we can minimize the chances of having injuries caused by accidents. People most prone to accidents inside our home are our children because they are very playful, runs around a lot, and are very curious about almost everything inside the house.

So if you have kids living with you, it is better to read this tips from your certified home inspectors for child-proofing your homes.

• Install safety locks and latches to your cabinets and drawers especially those located in your kitchen, bathroom, basement and others. These will prevent kids from opening these fixtures and stopping them from playing with its contents. It is best to place safety locks for cabinets where you store poisonous chemicals such as pesticides, detergents and paints.

• Install safety gates in your stairs to prevent children from playing in your stairs. Choose a safety gate that is strong enough to prevent kids from tampering with it. It is also great if you can install safety gates in places where kids are not permitted such as in your basement, garage, office or workshop.

• Mount gates and fences to your swimming pool area. Children loves to play in the water, thus making the pool area a high risk area for accidents especially if kids are left unattended. Gates and fences deny children access to the swimming pool area without the consent of their guardians.

• Use anti-scald devices for faucets and shower heads. You should also adjust your water heater at a suitable temperature to prevent burns from hot water. Try to ask your plumber to install the device and adjust the temperature of your water heater.

• Use corner and edge bumpers. Kids run a lot making them prone into bumping to furniture such as tables and other sharp edged fixtures. To prevent injury such as bumps, scrapes and wounds, put rubber bumpers to the edges of your furniture such as in your tables and fire place.

• Use outlet covers to prevent children from poking into electrical outlets. Many electrical outlets sold in hardware shops have screw on covers with chains. They are great for the covers are difficult to remove and the covers can not pose as a choking hazard.

• Place door stops and holders to prevent injuries coming from slamming the door.

• Use wireless phones when watching over the kids. Using wireless phones gives you the luxury of answering the phone without leaving your kids to play on their own especially if they are in the bath tub or swimming pool.

• Carbon Monoxide detectors should also be installed inside all of your sleeping areas to prevent CO poisoning. Houses with gas, oil and fire wood heaters and fire place as well as those with attached garage are required to have CO detectors inside their houses.

• Install video cameras or use wireless radio in your child’s bedroom. These gadgets are very handy especially in alerting you when your baby wakes up from his afternoon nap.

For more expert advice on how to child proof your houses, it is best to schedule a regular visit from your friendly certified home inspector.

If you are living in the South Bay Area, you only need to call South Bay Home Inspections for all your Home Inspection needs.

South Bay Home Inspections also offers special packages for:

Air and Mold Sampling inside your house and Pool and Spa Inspections.