Associated Design Builders is not a Referral Service, but a fully licensed and insured Fire Damage Repair Contractor in Mercer County New Jersey.

Fire Damage Repair Contractor in Mercer County NJ.

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As a Fire Damage Repair Contractor in Mercer County New Jersey, we have found through the years the following list of Resources have come in handy during may facets of our construction business.  These links could be an invaluable resource to your Fire Damage Improvement project.

According to the Home Safety Council’s State of Home Safety in America™ Report, fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional home injury and related deaths. Fire safety and survival begin with everyone in your household being prepared. Candles can provide a warm and festive atmosphere - but they can also be a fire hazard if left unattended or placed near anything flammable. The Home Safety Council encourages families to enjoy holiday candles while always keeping fire safety in mind. Home Safety Council research shows that 97 percent of American homes have at least one smoke alarm, but one may not be enough. Do you have enough smoke alarms in your home? Are they correctly installed? Early warning is essential for every fire escape plan.

Fire is a leading cause of preventable deaths in the home; but by being prepared to handle this emergency, you can help your family safely exit your home in the event of a fire. Fire safety and survival begins with everyone in your household being prepared. In the year studied, The State of Home Safety in America™ report found that only 54 percent of families with children have discussed what to do in case of a home fire. According to the NFPA, gas and charcoal grills caused an average of 3,400 structure fires and 4,900 outdoor fires in or on home properties in 2005, resulting in a combined direct property loss of $137 million.

Home fire sprinklers save lives and prevent injuries. They also keep the fire and smoke from ruining your things. If there is a fire, a fire sprinkler system turns on automatically. It quickly sprays water on the flames, keeping it small. In many cases, the fire is put out before the fire department arrives.

Fire Sprinklers in Your Home.

If you are making changes to your home, or planning to build a new home, talk to someone at your fire department about having a fire sprinkler system installed. Ask for help finding a qualified sprinkler installer.

If you are moving, ask your real estate or rental agent to show you homes that have fire sprinkler systems already installed.

How do Fire Sprinklers Work?

• Visit MySafeHome.org and enter the kitchen and living room to watch fire sprinklers in action.

The Home Safety Council is a member of the Board of the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC), which has free information, videos and online materials for consumers on its Web site, including an animation that explains how sprinklers work: www.Homefiresprinkler.org.

HSC's free web site Sprinkler Smarts helps children in grades K-5 and grades 6-8 understand fire safety basics and how home fire sprinkler systems work.

Fire Sprinklers vs. Flashover.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides online still photos and video clips depicting a fire with and without fire sprinklers present. Watch flashover occur in the non-sprinkler demonstration. Watch this amusing video about the value of home fire sprinkler systems.

Prevent Fires Caused by Cooking.

Always stay in the kitchen while cooking. Keep things that can burn, such as dishtowels, paper or plastic bags, and curtains at least three feet away from the range top. Before cooking, roll up sleeves and use oven mitts. Loose-fitting clothes can touch a hot burner and catch on fire. Never leave barbecue grills unattended while in use. Keep grills at least ten feet away from other objects, including the house and any shrubs or bushes. Always stay by the grill when cooking.

Prevent Fires Caused by Heating.

Store matches and lighters in a locked cabinet. Keep space heaters at least three feet away from things that can burn, such as curtains or stacks of newspaper. Always turn off heaters when leaving the room or going to bed. Have a service person inspect chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves and central furnaces once a year. Have them cleaned when necessary. Keep things that can burn away from your fireplace and keep a glass or metal screen in front of your fireplace.

Prevent Fires Caused by Smoking.

Use “fire-safe” cigarettes and smoke outside. Use large, deep ashtrays on sturdy surfaces like a table. Douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before dumping them in the trash.

Prevent Fires Caused by Candles.

Never leave burning candles unattended. Do not allow children to keep candles or incense in their rooms. Always use stable, candle holders made of material that won’t catch fire, such as metal, glass, etc. Blow out candles when adults leave the room. Make sure an adult is in the room and paying attention whenever you light a candle. Blow out all candles before going to sleep or leaving the room. Do not permit children to keep or use candles or incense in their rooms. Candles should only be used when a sober adult is present and awake. Never use lighted candles on or near a Christmas tree or other evergreens. Keep candles at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including other decorations and wrapping paper. Always use stable, nonflammable candle holders with a hurricane glass to protect the open flame. Place candles where they will not be knocked down or blown over and out of reach of pets and young children. If you have children in your home, store candles, matches and lighters out of their sight and reach in a locked cabinet. To eliminate the risk of an open candle flame, use battery-powered candles whenever possible, especially when you combine candles with greenery or other decorations.

Prevent Fires Caused by Gasoline and Other Products.

Store gasoline in a garage or shed in a container approved for gasoline storage. Never bring or use gasoline indoors; and use it as a motor fuel only. Close the lid on all dangerous products and put them away after using them. Store them away from the home and in a safe place with a lock. Don’t plug in too many appliances at once.

Keep Your Family Safe At Home.

Make a fire escape plan for your family. Find two exits out of every room. Pick a meeting place outside. Practice makes perfect – hold a family fire drill at least twice each year. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home. For the best detection and notification protection, install both ionization- and photoelectric-type smoke alarms. Some models provide dual coverage. The type will be printed on the box or package. Put them inside or near every bedroom. Test them monthly to make sure they work. Put in new batteries once a year. Know how to put out a small pan fire by sliding a lid over the flames. Teach every family member to “Stop, Drop, Roll and Cool” if clothes catch fire by dropping immediately to the ground, crossing hands over your chest and rolling over and over or back and forth to put out the flames. Cool the burned area with cool water and seek medical attention for serious burns. Consider having a home fire sprinkler system installed in your new home, or when you remodel. Learn how and when to use a fire extinguisher. If you have a fire in your home, once you get out, stay out. Do not go back inside for any reason.

Installing and Testing Smoke Alarms.

Only purchase smoke alarms that are listed by UL and carry the UL mark on packaging. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement. Make sure there is an alarm near every sleeping area. The Home Safety Council recommends installing additional smoke alarms inside all bedrooms. For the best detection and notification protection, install both ionization- and photoelectric-type smoke alarms. Some models provide dual coverage. The type will be printed on the box or package. Smoke rises, so smoke alarms should be mounted high on walls or ceilings. Ceiling mounted alarms should be installed at least four inches away from the nearest wall; wall-mounted alarms should be installed four to 12 inches away from the ceiling. Choose an installation location that is well away from the path of steam from bathrooms and cooking vapors from the kitchen, which can result in false, or nuisance alarms. Don't install smoke alarms near windows, doors, or ducts where drafts might interfere with their operation. Test each smoke alarm every month. Push the test button until you hear a loud noise. Put new batteries in your smoke alarms at least one time each year. The Home Safety Council recommends using interconnected smoke alarms. These are available with wireless connection and hard-wired with battery back-up. These alarms are tied in together so that if one alarm operates, they all signal together. Some models provide dual coverage (both ionization and photoelectric sensing technology). If your smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, get new smoke alarms.

Child-Locator Window Decals.

Many groups, including some safety organizations, offer adhesive "child locator" window decals to be placed on the window panes of rooms where children sleep.

The decals are intended to aid firefighters in more easily locating children in a fire; however the Home Safety Council does not recommend the use of child-locator window decals. Firefighters are very systematic in their response to home fires and they thoroughly perform search and rescue operations as standard procedure.

Decals signal an area of vulnerability. Parents and caregivers should be aware of a potential safety concern about using child-locator decals. They may signal to intruders an area of vulnerability in the home, highlighting where children are asleep. That unintended possibility outweighs the questionable value the decals may have to firefighters who are trained to perform thorough searches of homes involved in serious fires, regardless of window markings.

Another concern is that window decals can be misleading. An old decal could potentially lead a firefighter on a dangerous, yet needless, prolonged search for a child who isn't there. Many fire departments do not recognize the decals as legitimate markers because they often remain affixed to windows long after a child has out-grown the room or families with children have moved away.

A proactive home fire safety program.

It is essential for everyone in the family to take a proactive role in fire safety, including children, who should be taught how to quickly and properly respond to the sound of smoke alarms and how to safely escape if fire breaks out. Firefighters agree it is counterproductive to teach children to wait to be rescued.

Home Security and Fire Safety.

Sometimes, families seeking to protect themselves from one hazard unknowingly put themselves at risk from others. For example, home security can protect people from intruders, but it can also be harmful if security features prevent quick escape during a fire emergency. Home security and fire safety can and should work together and the Home Safety Council encourages you to examine entryways, both doors and windows, to make sure home security doesn’t interfere with your fire escape plan.

Security Locks.

The Home Safety Council recommends that every home entry door be equipped with a sturdy dead-bolt lock that is properly installed and maintained in good working condition. When choosing deadbolt locks for your home, keep the following guidelines in mind.

• Avoid two-keyed deadbolt locks that require a key on both the inside and outside of an entry door. These keyed locks can trap people inside if there is a fire. Keys can easily be misplaced when the deadbolt is locked, making it impossible to escape.

• Replace any two-keyed entry locks with common deadbolt locks that only require keyed entry from the outside and have a turning or “throwing” bolt or latch inside.

• If your home entry doors have two-keyed deadbolt locks, protect your family in the meantime by keeping the key to your deadbolt on a hook near the door but away from any windows. Make sure all responsible family members know exactly where to find the key and how to use it quickly in an emergency.

Window Security/Burglar Bars.

Security bars on doors and windows can provide a strong defense against intruders and give families greater confidence in their home’s safety. However that same strength can prove deadly in a fire emergency. Bars welded over an escape route not only trap victims inside; they also prevent firefighters from being able to get them out. The Home Safety Council asks families to evaluate their fire escape route to make sure security measures do not hinder a quick escape:

Bars on doors and windows can provide a strong defense against intruders and give families greater confidence in their home’s security. However that same strength can prove deadly in a fire emergency. New research shows that home fires grow so fast and spread so quickly that people may three minutes or less to survive a fire and its deadly smoke. Bars welded over an escape route not only trap victims inside; they also prevent firefighters from being able to get them out. The Home Safety Council urges families to make sure security measures do not slow down a quick escape:

Children & Smoke Fire Alarms.

Did you know that despite a piercing 70-85 decibel signal, children often sleep through the sound of a home smoke alarm? A quick response is essential in a fire emergency, so if children don't waken to the signal, parents and caregivers must wake them. Interconnected smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference. Interconnected smoke alarms are hard-wired into a home's electrical system and each alarm is connected together so that when one alarm signals, they all signal, no matter where the fire starts.

With interconnected smoke alarms, you'll have early warning of the fire wherever you are, because the smoke alarm in your room will sound at the same time as the alarm in the room with the fire. If your children or someone else in the household isn't aroused by the smoke alarm, you'll be able to waken them, hastening their safe escape.

Danger: Even with interconnected alarms, emerging research has demonstrated that sleeping children may be able to tune out the blaring sound. Make sure your children wake and properly respond when the smoke alarms signal. Empowering children with basic fire escape skills is a very good idea - everyone should know to react immediately to the sound of the alarm and how to get outside quickly. But before assuming children will react appropriately to a late-night fire, parents must learn if their children will be roused immediately or sleep through the smoke alarm. Even those who awaken to the sound of the alarm may be groggy or move with indecision.

Learn if your children will awaken. To find out for certain, the Home Safety Council urges parents to hold regular family fire drills. Children can participate in the drills by helping to draw the fire escape plan. Once kids have mastered fire escape skills, hold a drill when children are sleeping to learn how they will respond to the sound of the smoke alarm. Push the "test" button on the closest alarm during the drill. If children don't readily waken and demonstrate the ability to move with decision, parents must make a contingency plan for awakening them in family drills and in a fire emergency.

Important: Children aren't the only ones who sleep through smoke alarms. Research shows that teenagers and even adults can tune out the loud sound while they sleep. Additionally, people with hearing impairments may not be able to hear conventional alarms; special smoke alarms with strobes and/or vibration are available for purchase online and through local fire equipment distributors. Make sure everyone in your family is protected by the early warning that smoke alarms provide.

Every home should have working smoke alarms on each level, and protecting each sleeping area. The Home Safety Council recommends installing smoke alarms inside bedrooms as well. For the best detection and notification protection, install both ionization- and photoelectric-type smoke alarms. Some models provide dual coverage. The type will be printed on the box or package. For additional protection from fire, consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your new or remodeled home.

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