Save Those Dearest to You: Fire Safety for Manufactured Homes

For everyone who is a homeowner, it is important to practice home fire safety each day and also be aware of the hazards specific to your own home. For those who live in manufactured homes, it is important to know of the fire hazards that most often present themselves in your specific type of house.

First, here are a few statistics in relation to fires in manufactures homes:

- Each year, approximately 345 lives are lost due to fires in manufactured housing in the United States.

- Also each year, roughly 765 people are injured due to a fire-related incident in their manufactured home.

- The majority of these fires are ignited by malfunctions in the heating and electrical system in addition to the improper storage of combustibles.

Despite these hazards, there are certainly safe ways that can be employed to prevent (or severely reduce) the risk of having a fire in your manufactured home; all you have to do is employ a few precautions.

The main issue with manufactured homes is the fact that they account for over 17,000 fires, not to mention literally hundreds of deaths and millions of dollars in damage expenses. Also, manufactured homes have a fire fatality rate per 100,000 housing units, which is 32-50% higher than the rate of other housing accommodations.

Just as in any other home, children account for a majority of the fires. Children are incredibly curious, and fire is certainly an intriguing and fascinating medium. Simply keeping matches and lighters tucked safely away in an upper cabinet or in a locked drawer can help eliminate the temptation to play with fire for children.

Also with living in any other home, the maintenance of smoke alarms is a necessity. It is easy to simply forget when the batteries need to be changed, and before one knows it, the batteries are dead and the task is forgotten. Smoke alarms help many families get out of the house in time, and literally hundreds of lives are saved each year due to the use of smoke alarms.

When living in a manufactured home, it is important to keep the following things in mind:

- If you do not have smoke alarms, install them according to the manufacturers instructions.

- Install at cardon monoxide detectors (1) in your home, regardless of sleeping arrangements.

- Have your heating system serviced at least once a year by a professional.

- Be careful to not overload electrical outlets, and avoid using power and extension cords within the home.

- When considering purchasing a manufactured home, ask if it is possible to install a sprinkler system.

- Use extreme caution when utilizing space heaters.

- Do not store combustible materials or flammable items close to heat sources.

As with any home, it is important to recognize and be aware of the fire hazards. In your manufactured home, it is important to install a warning system (i.e. smoke alarms), and to also regularly maintain the alarms and have your heating system serviced by a professional annually. Doing these simple things can help you keep your home, not to mention save the lives of those dearest to you.