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Preventing Fires in Your Home

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Home fires are a leading cause of catastrophic burn injuries. From the years 2013-2017, home fires caused about 2,600 civilian deaths annually. The most common causes of home fires are cooking, heating, electricity and lighting, intentional fire setting and smoking, according to the National Fire Protection Association. From 2013-2017, cooking was the leading cause of home fires and smoking was the leading cause of home fire deaths.

Some people falsely believe that they’d have enough time to safely escape a fire in the house. You may not realize that it takes just a few minutes for flames, smoke and temperatures as hot as 600 degrees to fill the home.

All families and individuals should be ready and have a plan in the event of a house fire:

  • Have a fire escape plan. Best practice is to identify two ways to escape a room in case one way is blocked.
  • Install and maintain smoke alarms. Install smoke alarms on all levels of the home, in and outside of bedrooms. Test batteries once each month.
  • Never leave cooking food unattended. Cooking food can cause a fire in mere moments.
  • Don’t store cookbooks, paper towels or any other flammable materials near the oven or stovetop.
  • Have heating systems inspected annually. Keeping them in good working order can prevent a house fire.
  • Space heaters are a common cause of fires. Plug them directly into the wall outlet, not a power strip. The heater must be on a level surface and well out of range of curtains, bedsheets, carpet and other flammable materials.

There are many other ways to prevent fires and you should take some time to research those measures. Prevention can go a long way in keeping you and your household safe.

While home fires are most often caused by a mistake on the part of the homeowners, sometimes the source of the fire can be traced back to someone else’s negligence. A wide variety of home appliances, wiring and other parts of your home could cause a fire if not manufactured or installed properly. In such scenarios, you’d have no way of knowing that someone else’s carelessness set the stage for a catastrophic home fire.

To talk to an experienced burn injury lawyer in your area, please search our directory.

Burn and Explosion Injury

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Few injuries are more painful or more disfiguring than a burn injury caused by a fire or explosion. Not only are these injuries devastating, but they can do long term damage both physically and mentally. For that reason, if you or a loved one suffered a severe burn injury, you need a committed attorney who will ensure that you are fully compensated for your pain and suffering.

Your attorney should understand that no amount of money can possibly compensate you for the physical and mental pain associated with a severe burn injury. Further, it can be very difficult to determine compensation for the loss of your home, personal documents, mementos let alone compensate you for the long lasting and often debilitating injuries that are typically caused by explosion or fire accidents.

Your attorney’s job is to ensure that you and your loved ones are not financially crippled due to the expenses that are created by loss of wages, surgeries, pain medication, and rehabilitation therapy that is often a result of the fire or explosion injury.

Burns and explosions are most commonly caused by:

  • Fireplaces
  • Wood burning stoves
  • Coal burning stoves
  • Space heaters
  • Electric heaters
  • Cigarette lighters
  • Furniture that is upholstered
  • Matches
  • Mattresses and other bedding
  • Liquids that are flammable
  • Clothing

In California, the most common causes of fire injuries and deaths include heating equipment that is poorly maintained or in disrepair, careless cigarette smoking and accidents caused while cooking. Too often space heaters and electric blankets increase the likelihood of a fire erupting as a result of not being properly maintained or improper operation.

Burns are not only disfiguring, they are extremely painful. Burns that are caused by building fires, liquids and gasses are the most common serious burns.  The accepted definitions of degrees of burn are:

  • First Degree – affects only the outer layer of skin
  • Second Degree – affects the other skin and the layer immediately below it
  • Third Degree – extensive burning of all layers of skin and damage to underlying tissue which often require skin grafts.

Burn and explosion injury victims often spend long periods of time in specialized burn units and will be faced with scarring, deformity, potential toxins in blood and urine, respiratory distress and all too often, death.

This article has been submitted by Pacific Attorney Group. If you or someone you love has been the victim of a burn or explosion accident visit our website for more information about burn injury lawsuits. We will fight to ensure that you receive full compensation for your injuries.