Top Tips: Basement

While the basement may not be the place you and your family spend the most time, it can still have serious potential hazards and be the starting point for a fire.

Use these tips and directions to stay as safe as possible in your basement.

Arm Yourself Properly in the Basement

• Ensure you have a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide (CO) alarmin the basement area to alert you and your family to a hazard.  Also have an ABC-rated fire extinguisher within reach to fight small and contained fires.
  
  
  

What To Do In Case Of Fire

• Yell to alert others at home with you and execute your Escape Plan as practiced.  
  
  
• Evacuate the home as quickly as possible and call 911 to call for help.

Tips to Prevent a Basement Fire

• Keep your chimney clean.  If you heat your home with a coal stove or wood-burning fireplace, make sure a professional inspects and cleans the chimney and connectors at least once each year.
  
  
• Keep your furnace maintained. Have a professional inspect your furnace annually, before the heating season. Replace any parts as soon as required or recommended by a qualified technician.
  
  
• Store flammable materials with care.  If you must keep materials such as paint thinner or lighter fluid in your basement, ensure they are in the original containers or approved safety containers. Keep all flammable liquids and fire-starting materials well out of the reach of children at all times.