Archive | Fire Prevention

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Stay Warm This Winter With Our 10 Safety Tips

It will have to be a strange day indeed if the Inland Empire residents have to dig their cars out of snow. But we do need to take precautions!

No, it doesn’t get that cold in California in the winters, although the mountains do see snow this time of year. But we dare anyone to tell us they didn’t get shivers up their spine seeing photos and video of the snowstorm back East! Anyone? No, we thought not.

And even though us Californians don’t have much to worry about in the way of freezing temperatures, we are complete “weather wimps” and still bust out the space heaters and start up the fireplaces when the nights and mornings are chilly. Continue Reading →

Are Ethanol Portable Fireplaces Safe?

For the most part, yes—portable ethanol fireplaces are safe. But, as with any device or appliance that has an open flame, there are precautions that need to be taken.

It’s beautiful, but can be dangerous if not used properly.

Who doesn’t love sitting by an open fire when there’s a nip in the air? In recent years, the portable ethanol fireplace has made sitting by the fire, both indoors and outdoors, something that’s both easy and nice to look at. Some of them are very attractive, using colored rocks or sleek chrome for a modern, clean look for inside the house, and out.

What is ethanol anyway? It’s actually pretty cool—it’s a plant-based fuel product that does not release new carbon dioxide into the air. That means it’s much better for the environment than a wood fire, which causes all sorts of air pollution! Continue Reading →

Checklist for January Home Improvements

Some home improvements are easy to do yourself, but for the big jobs, hire a professional.

As a year ends and a new one begins, many of us make resolutions about being more active, eating a better diet, weeding through an old wardrobe or cleaning out cupboards for donations to goodwill. But what about your house? It can’t make these kind of plans to spruce itself up or keep itself in shape to live a long, healthy life the way you can.

So why not give it a helping hand? It’s not just helping your house, it’s helping you in the long run. Regular home maintenance is good for a property, extending its “economic age”, a term meaning the number of years a house is expected to survive. It also ensures safety, prevents those little maintenance problems turning into costly repair projects and can possibly even reduce energy consumption. And, especially in this crazy real estate economy, you want to make sure your home is well maintained just in case you want to sell—it seriously helps the resale value. Continue Reading →

Don’t Let Your Christmas Tree Ruin Your Holiday With a Fire!

We know that many of you already put up your Christmas trees, and hopefully you’ve been enjoying their wonderful pine scent, festive looks and twinkling lights. Some people wait until closer to Christmas to choose the tree and decorate it.

Either way, you’ll probably hang treasured ornaments on it, and place your carefully chosen presents underneath it—presents you’ve probably spent a pretty penny on. Continue Reading →

Hanukkah Fire Safety Tips

Hanukkah starts this Saturday, December 8th, and for those of you who are not aware, one of the traditions of the Hanukkah celebration is the menorah. The menorah is a candelabra with nine branches that are lit during the eight-day Hanukkah holiday, and is used to celebrate a miracle, when the Jews found only enough pure olive oil to light the menorah for one day after a successful revolt centuries ago. The miracle was that the supply lasted eight days, until a new supply could be obtained. Nowadays, the menorah has eight candles to light each night during Hanukkah.

In addition to the menorah, another Hanukkah tradition is making latkes, pancakes made of potato and onion and fried in oil—another celebration of a small amount of oil keeping a long-lasting flame. And even as careful as you can be, most house fires are started in the kitchen, which means that you should be extra vigilant when using hot oil for cooking.

With one to eight candles burning nightly plus hot oil or grease, there’s bound to be some fire-related accidents. Please review this handy list of safety tips to practice during the Hanukkah celebration to keep your family safe and sound. Don’t ruin the holiday by accidentally burning your house down!

  1. This week is the perfect time to test the smoke detectors in your house, and change the batteries if needed.
  2. Buy a fire extinguisher and keep it near the place you’ll be setting up the menorah.
  3. Place the menorah on a non-flammable, solid and level surface.
  4. Make sure all candles are secure in their holders.
  5. Keep all flammable materials, including drapes, blinds, decorations and plants, away from the menorah.
  6. Before lighting your menorah, make sure that it is meant to be lit, and not for decorative purposes only.
  7. Electric menorahs should not be used if wiring insulation is frayed or broken.
  8. Never, and we mean NEVER, leave a lit menorah unattended.
  9. When cooking latkes, keep children away from the hot oil; ideally, keep children away from the kitchen.
  10. Keep frying pans on the back burners of the stove, and keep the handle of the pan(s) away from the edge so children cannot reach it.
  11. If cooking oil catches fire, turn off the gas or electric range and cover the pan with its lid—if you can do so at no risk to yourself. Ideally, use a fire extinguisher appropriate for grease fires.
  12. Never throw water or a wet towel on an oil fire, as that will cause the hot oil to splatter on you or ignite something nearby.

Please have a happy and safe Hanukkah celebration! If you do have an accident in the kitchen or with your menorah, please call us immediately after you call the emergency services: (877) 732-8471.

Preventing Kitchen Fires During Thanksgiving

Did you know that the top day each year for fires started by cooking equipment? It seems that the combination of families getting together, alcohol, gravy, wrestling a turkey into an oven and more alcohol add up to accidents that result in kitchen fires.

Our business is based on helping people recover from fires and floods, but that doesn’t mean we wish these accidents on anyone. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a quiet Thanksgiving holiday, and to help achieve that goal, we’ve listed these tips that come to you both from all of us at PDR Inland Empire, and also the NFPA: Continue Reading →

Keep Your Kids Safe While Trick-or-Treating at Halloween

Flashlights are an essential for trick-or-treaters!

Even a fever or stomach flu won’t stop kids wanting to get out there in their meticulously planned costume and go door-to-door for their yearly Halloween candy haul. But as parents, we worry, and sadly in this day and age, there’s reason to do just that.

Even though it’s not like we’re going to let apples with razorblades pass by our eagle eye, but there are still a few things that we’d like to remind you on this holiday to keep any of the scary stuff firmly in the intentional and harmless categories. Continue Reading →

Be Safe, Inland Empire, With Our Halloween Fire Safety Tips

Carving pumpkins is fun, but don’t let the lit ones start a fire in your home.

No child can resist the lure of Halloween, it seems. And why not? Besides the promise of bags and bags of candy and treats, they get to dress up as their favorite princess, superhero or character. It’s when the whole nation comes together to let their alter egos run free!

But because children get so excited about the holiday, it’s up to us adults to keep them from mistakes and accidents that might happen on Halloween, and in the preparation. From costumes to decorations, there are dangers that can be easily avoided with just a little forethought. All of us at PDR Inland Empire wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween, so we wanted to share some safety tips that will keep both your house and its visitors free from fire-related accidents. Continue Reading →

Use National Fire Prevention Week to Protect Your Family

Do you know who to call if this happens?

At PDR Inland Empire, we take house fires very seriously. Contrary to how it may seem, we don’t want a lot of fires starting all over our area just because we’ll get more business. We truly care about our customers and their families, and want to make sure that they never have to call us when their house is a pile of ashes. But in case of a fire in your home, we also want to promote the best practices if and when that happens. Continue Reading →

What You Need to Know About Car Fires and Safety

It’s not just homes, businesses and forests that can catch fire. Remember around the New Year of 2011/2012, when that lunatic was running around Los Angeles setting cars on fire? Not only did this man destroy several cars, those cars were in carports or parking structures that then caught on fire—and that causes a big problem for a lot of people.

That said, it doesn’t take a maniac arsonist to start a car fire. An automobile can catch fire just fine on its own, and for many reasons. The National Fire Protection Association says that mechanical or electrical issues are the most common causes, but a fire can also be the result of a bad crash. Continue Reading →