In a perfect world, we would learn to properly maintain every potential fire hazard in the house. Our heaters would always be in perfect working order. We would never leave a flammable object close to the open flame of a stove. Candles would be properly blown out before going to bed at night. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and we often forget to take care of one small detail.
Last week I was sitting at home caring for two children ages 4 and 18 months old. I am a live-in nanny and am responsible for the part-time care of these kids and their 3 older siblings who are school age. Normally I only work a few hours a week for the family, but this particular week, both parents had gone out of town on short notice so I found myself on child care duty 24/7. I was sitting at the kitchen table getting some work done and the kids were in the other room playing quietly when a loud knock rapped on the door. I got up and walked to the door expecting a neighbor's child asking to play with the 4 year old. Instead, when I opened the door, I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of natural gas.
Standing in the doorway was an animal control police officer. "Do you smell that natural gas?" he asked. "Well, now I do. I couldn't smell it before I opened the door." "Well, I'm going to take a look around. Is anyone else at home?" "I've got two small kids here with me." "Okay. Stay inside and I'll let you know what I find."
Continuing their campaign to create a fire-safe America, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) released materials regarding the proper maintenance of your fire alarms and sprinklers. The USFA believes strongly that the routine maintenance of your fire alarm could protect more lives than just those of those in the home, and reducing fatalities from fire damage is the USFA's number one goal.
2. Just Before Your Search Spend a few hours and research mortgage jargon. This will make you more knowledgeable and help you understand exactly what you are purchasing. It will also catch lenders off guard and dissuade them from trying to tack on extra expenses. Determine your budget and stick to it. This is a big decision and needs to be made before you speak with lenders. If you go with no budget you may end up taking a loan much too large for you needs.
Once I got the kids settled at her house, I walked back to wait and see what was wrong so that I could call the homeowners with the information. It must have been a slow week because no less than EIGHT response vehicles showed up. Two fire trucks, three ambulances, a police truck, the original animal control officer's truck and the truck of another animal control officer (who was bored and in the area) were all parked in front of my house.
Test these alarms monthly. They also recommend installing ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms (or dual sensor smoke alarms). Alarms that you know are working save lives. They give you proper warning. In contrast, two or three alarms you assume work that are scattered around the house endanger them. If there was one thing you did to fight fires at home, it should at least be the proper maintenance of your smoke alarms (and sprinkler systems if you have them).
If the situation had been worse we might have had to leave the home while they turned off the gas until the leak could be dug up and fixed or, if the leak had been inside, we would have had to tear down walls until the leak could be located and repaired. The moral of this story is, when it rains, it pours and it's better to be safe than sorry.
If you are in need of a general contractor in Blackfoot, Idaho, give MBA Construction a call. We have the skills and expertise to make your project a reality.
Last week I was sitting at home caring for two children ages 4 and 18 months old. I am a live-in nanny and am responsible for the part-time care of these kids and their 3 older siblings who are school age. Normally I only work a few hours a week for the family, but this particular week, both parents had gone out of town on short notice so I found myself on child care duty 24/7. I was sitting at the kitchen table getting some work done and the kids were in the other room playing quietly when a loud knock rapped on the door. I got up and walked to the door expecting a neighbor's child asking to play with the 4 year old. Instead, when I opened the door, I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of natural gas.
Standing in the doorway was an animal control police officer. "Do you smell that natural gas?" he asked. "Well, now I do. I couldn't smell it before I opened the door." "Well, I'm going to take a look around. Is anyone else at home?" "I've got two small kids here with me." "Okay. Stay inside and I'll let you know what I find."
Continuing their campaign to create a fire-safe America, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) released materials regarding the proper maintenance of your fire alarms and sprinklers. The USFA believes strongly that the routine maintenance of your fire alarm could protect more lives than just those of those in the home, and reducing fatalities from fire damage is the USFA's number one goal.
2. Just Before Your Search Spend a few hours and research mortgage jargon. This will make you more knowledgeable and help you understand exactly what you are purchasing. It will also catch lenders off guard and dissuade them from trying to tack on extra expenses. Determine your budget and stick to it. This is a big decision and needs to be made before you speak with lenders. If you go with no budget you may end up taking a loan much too large for you needs.
Once I got the kids settled at her house, I walked back to wait and see what was wrong so that I could call the homeowners with the information. It must have been a slow week because no less than EIGHT response vehicles showed up. Two fire trucks, three ambulances, a police truck, the original animal control officer's truck and the truck of another animal control officer (who was bored and in the area) were all parked in front of my house.
Test these alarms monthly. They also recommend installing ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms (or dual sensor smoke alarms). Alarms that you know are working save lives. They give you proper warning. In contrast, two or three alarms you assume work that are scattered around the house endanger them. If there was one thing you did to fight fires at home, it should at least be the proper maintenance of your smoke alarms (and sprinkler systems if you have them).
If the situation had been worse we might have had to leave the home while they turned off the gas until the leak could be dug up and fixed or, if the leak had been inside, we would have had to tear down walls until the leak could be located and repaired. The moral of this story is, when it rains, it pours and it's better to be safe than sorry.
If you are in need of a general contractor in Blackfoot, Idaho, give MBA Construction a call. We have the skills and expertise to make your project a reality.
About the Author:
MBA Construction, a general contractor in Corpus Christ Texas provides all types of construction. We focus on in design-build, build-to-print and commercial construction in the energy, industrial & medical industries.
