While it might seem that hazards happen randomly, the fact is that we can do a great deal to reduce their likelihood by being proactive in our own homes. First, simply have on hand some basic emergency supplies, and be prepared for the kinds of natural disasters that happen in your region. And, since kids are probably the most vulnerable family members, think about the risks they might face at home.
Invest in Door and Window Locks
Probably the single most important thing anyone can do to ensure their security is to lock their doors and windows. Any door lock is better than no lock, but having a deadbolt with at least a 1 inch throw on the bolt is even better. Deadbolts are available in single cylinder or double cylinder configurations, as well as ones controllable from a smartphone or with a combination.
Single-cylinder deadbolts operate from inside with a knob, and from the outside with a key. Double cylinder deadbolts require a key from both sides. The thinking is that with a single-cylinder deadbolt, someone can break the door glass, reach in, and turn the deadbolt’s knob to gain entry. That doesn’t work with a double cylinder, but the downside is that if you need to get out, say because of fire, and you don’t have the key, you’re in trouble.
Windows, particularly double hung versions, are a weak point. Lifting up the bottom sash with a pry-bar will pop the screws out of nearly any sash lock made. You can cut a stick to fit between the bottom sash and the top of the window to prevent it from opening, but this should never be done in a bedroom where the windows provide fire egress. And besides, any window can be entered if someone is willing to break the glass. The only real way to address the vulnerability of windows is to have an alarm system installed. Most new homes have them already, and many alarm companies will install a system gratis or at a reduced cost if you sign up for their monitoring program.
Cameras have become a major addition to home security. With cameras located outside your house, you can see if anyone is outside your home from your computer or phone. And recordings from cameras can provide evidence of crimes.
Fire Prevention and Detection
Keeping your home fire safe takes a combination of things. The first is obvious—minimize fire hazards by keeping work areas clean and areas around open flames free from flammable materials.
Pro Tip: Charlie Halbert, a veteran home inspector based in Connecticut, stresses the importance of annual fireplace maintenance: “This is especially important in homes with older masonry chimneys.” Mortar between the bricks deteriorates over time, resulting in gaps; if creosote residue in the chimney catches fire, the flames can spread through those gaps into the surrounding structure. Have your chimney flues cleaned once a year to avoid the buildup of creosote, an oily, flammable by-product of wood fires.
Codes have required smoke detectors throughout new houses, and in older ones when significant renovations are undertaken, since at least the 1990s. In some states, a home can’t be sold or rented without being outfitted with smoke detectors. Almost every home has them now. Most people know that the backup batteries need to be replaced annually, but did you know the detectors themselves don’t last forever? The radioactive element in them that detects smoke particles only lasts about ten years. If your smoke detectors are older than that, replace them.
Carbon monoxide detectors have been code-required for some time, and if your home doesn’t already have a CO detector, it should. According to the National Fire Protection Association, “CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound. install one outside of the bedrooms, at the very least.”
You may be able to replace a smoke detector with a combination smoke/CO detector that’s compatible with your other detectors, or you may have to buy a stand-alone CO detector that mounts on a wall.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends a fire extinguisher on every floor of the house. More than one isn’t a bad idea—for example, you might want one in the kitchen and one near the living room fireplace even though both rooms are on the first floor. Extinguishers are listed by the type of fire they work on. An ABC extinguisher is the best choice because it works on all common fires.
Sprinklers are required by code in some areas now, and they aren’t a bad idea if you’re doing major remodeling or building a new structure.
A Lesson in Sprinklers: Rebecca and Greg Mizioch were required by local law to outfit all 10 rooms of their Scottsdale, Arizona, home with fire sprinklers when they built it in 1995. “We thought they were pointless,” says Rebecca Mizioch. “The odds of us ever needing them were slim to none.” Then, shortly after 6 a.m. on July 3, 1996, their teenage daughter Rachel lit a few candles in her room—and the family learned firsthand just how quickly sprinklers can save lives and property.
If you live in an area where wildfires occur, it’s very important to create a so-called defensible space around your house. The minimum defensible space is a zone 30 feet wide with minimal vegetation and kept clear of dried leaves, grasses, and deadwood. Your local fire department will have more detailed recommendations.
Electrical Safety
Electricity is integral to our lives, but it can also start fires or kill us outright. Modern systems are quite safe, and one of the key components are GFCI outlets. These trip a breaker almost instantly. For decades they have been required by code in potentially wet areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, basements, garages, and outdoors. Most homes have been upgraded to them, but not all. And like any device, GFCIs wear out with time. GFCI testers are readily available at home centers, and it’s a good idea to test yours annually.
In general, keep an eye on electrical devices. Broken receptacles or switches should be replaced. Circuits that don’t always work or that sometimes trip for unknown reasons should be checked by a professional electrician.
Wind and Storms
Hurricanes and tornadoes can devastate a home. New homes in high wind zones are required to have impact-resistant windows. If you’re replacing windows anyway, these can make your home much safer. Another route you can go is to have impact-resistant shutters installed to cover your existing windows.
During a This Old House segment on hurricane protection, Tom Silva demonstrated how flying debris during a hurricane can destroy a home from the inside out: “Any object on the ground can be picked up by that wind and thrown at your house as flying projectiles. And if they hit the house at the weakest link, like your windows or your doors or even a skylight, they’ll break it and the wind and rain can get inside your house, destroying the content and blowing the structure apart from the inside out.” In testing at a lab, the This Old House team found that even fabric storm shields, while effective, can deflect enough on impact to allow a projectile to break the glass behind them—making permanently installed metal shutters, which can be operated from inside or even remotely, a more reliable option for many homeowners.
Leslie Chapman-Henderson, CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, explains the danger of a broken window during a hurricane: “The wind comes in through a broken window or failed door, and it’s gotta come back out. The pressure will build, and it will literally explode out whatever weak spots it finds in your structure.” This phenomenon, known as internal pressurization, is why keeping windows intact is often the first line of defense against more catastrophic damage.
Tornadoes are far less predictable than hurricanes, and their winds can be deadly. Building a safe room in the middle of the house, preferably in the basement if there is one, can save your family from harm.
To qualify as a safe room, the structure must withstand extreme forces. According to standards developed with the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University, a safe room’s doors and walls must stop a 15-pound 2×4 traveling like a javelin at 100 mph. An aboveground, in-residence shelter on the ground floor offers a key advantage over underground options: as wind researcher Ernst Kiesling notes, “The advantage of an in-residence, ground-floor shelter is that you can access it quickly and safely” — an especially important consideration for elderly or disabled family members.
Pools and hot tubs
The risk of drowning deaths, particularly of children, can be addressed in several ways. First, codes require that pools and outdoor spas be fenced in with a lockable gate to keep out unsupervised children.
As any parent knows, however, it’s impossible to supervise kids every minute of every day, and there’s not a fence made that’s entirely childproof. As an added safety measure, consider a pool alarm. Mounted on the deck of the pool with a leg that extends into the water, pool alarms sound off when they detect waves in the water.
Maintenance
Many household injuries result from poor maintenance. A rotting stair tread or railing, for example, can easily fails when someone uses it. A wind gust can cause a dead branch overhanging the house to falls.
One torn shingle can fails during a storm, then wind gets underneath it, and before long a section of the roof is bare and water is coming in. At least once a year, make a trip around your home, inside and out, to look for potential hazards, and then fix any you find.
This Old House general contractor Tom Silva has seen firsthand what deferred maintenance can do. On one project, he carried a flashlight into the attic of a three-story house—but didn’t need it. “Daylight streams in through several coin-size holes in the roof,” he discovered, along with dark water stains on the sheathing. A tattered trash bag dangling from a rafter was all that remained of an earlier quick fix. What started as a few missing shingles had turned into a major structural concern.
