Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Techniques For Wildfire Preparation

By Devon Molark


Fires very quickly spread from tree to tree in dense forest. Long before the emergency evacuation crew knocks at your door, here are a few things you can do to protect your family and your belongings:

A getaway bag will help: Keep some of your most important belongings in a bag near the front door, so that you can grab it and go if you need to evacuate quickly. This will also make any temporarily away family members feel better, since you can protect their most valued items. Things for the bag would be your important documents, or copies of them, and any prescription medications that you or your family require. Nice-to-haves include toiletries, electronics, etc.

Important Data: Back up your data on an external hard drive automatically, so that if you need to leave in a hurry, you can just grab the drive, and have more time to get other irreplaceable items.

Look up, look way up: If you have overhead power lines on your property, make sure they are clear of vegetation and well away from the nearest tree. Fires can bring down trees, but a wind storm can do the same thing.

Create a zone of protection: If you can ensure the area within 10 metres of your home is free of trees, flammable vegetation and other combustibles, you'll go a long way towards protecting your home.

Take steps to prevent fire: Around half of wild fires are actually the doing of a careless person. It just takes one spark to start a huge tragic fire, cause by a controlled burns that gets out of hand, campfires that are carelessly left, or still burning cigarette butts.

Camp fires are not a good idea when the forest is bone-dry, and smoking is never a good idea. Never discard of a burning cigarette our of your car window. Dry vegetation on the side of the road can catch fire quite quickly from an still burning cigarette butt.

Cut back vegetation around your home. And try to use fireproof materials in the construction of your home, whenever possible. Some ways to do this are to install tempered glass windows, a spark arrestor on the chimney, and fire resistant shingles. Not only do these things keep you safer, they will likely end up saving you money on your home insurance.

A prepared evacuation plan is essential. Go over it with everyone in your household so that they are prepared. And do keep an emergency kit on hand. Include 3 days worth of drinking water, and an assortment of non-perishable food items. Other helpful items include a portable radio, a flashlight, batteries, and a first-aid kit.

If you have a hot tub or pool, keep them filled with water, as well as garbage cans or other kinds of containers. If an official evacuation order is handed down, don't take chances, leave the home immediately To make your home more simple to recognize, use address numbers that are fireproof. Firefighters will find your house much more quickly if you take that precaution.

Call 911 immediately if you see any signs that a wildfire is forming.

Make sure you have the right home insurance. A wildfire could strike at any time, so be sure that your home insurance is adequate, so that if a tragedy occurs and your home is lost, you can have it rebuilt without losing everything.




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