Fire safety is not something any family can ignore. House fire deaths rose by 13% in 2022, reaching a 14-year high. Experts believe that this is linked to modern home building materials and smaller windows, which make it harder for residents to escape. Once a fire breaks out, you could have less than two minutes to escape due to toxic smoke. And if a fire breaks out at night when everyone is asleep, it’s often deadly.

Here are some important fire safety tips all families should be aware of.

Fit Smoke Alarms

Smoke alarms save lives. A working smoke alarm will emit a loud, high-pitched noise when it detects smoke. The noise is so visceral you can’t ignore it, which is the whole point. Having smoke alarms fitted will give you a valuable early warning if a fire breaks out while you sleep; it could be enough time to get everyone out before the smoke gets too thick and deadly.

Fit smoke alarms upstairs and downstairs. Check the batteries regularly and replace them if necessary.

Don’t Use Candles

Candles are a common cause of house fires. People light candles and then forget about them. The candle burns down and starts smoldering, and before you know it, the whole room is alight.

If you do want to light a candle or tealight, perhaps for a romantic evening, make sure they are placed well out of reach of your children. Put them on a fire-proof surface, and well away from soft furnishings.

As the experts will confirm, repairing fire damage is a long and complex process, so don’t take an unnecessary risk with a cheap candle.

Place Fireguards Over Fires

Open fires look pretty, but they are a huge hazard for kids. All it takes is for an ember to jump out of the hearth and someone is burned, or the rug sets on fire. Always place a fire guard over a fireplace to keep the kids away and prevent sparks from jumping out. It’s also wise to use a fire guard over heaters and gas or electric fires.

They get very hot when switched on and younger children are not always aware of the dangers.

Keep a Fire Blanket in the Kitchen

Kitchen fires typically go from zero to inferno very quickly. Burning the dinner is more than an inconvenience. If you are not careful, cremating a few sausages in a frying pan could cause a fire. Hot oil fires can’t be extinguished with water – this will only make the fire worse. Keep a fire blanket in the kitchen for emergencies, so you can immediately put a fire out without needing to wet a tea towel.

Plan a Fire Escape Route

Have a fire escape route planned and make sure the whole family knows what to do if a fire does break out. If a bedroom overlooks a garage, this is a good place to climb out without causing a major injury. Plan your route for a nighttime escape, as this is when your family is most vulnerable.

Finally, keep your home tidy, as excessive clutter is a hazard in the event of a fire.

When you’re in a car accident, it’s easy to feel like your world has crumbled. But the truth is that most people get by just fine after an accident by being smart. Most people are so well equipped to handle the trauma of a car crash that they never even go through mental trauma following an accident! They manage to do this by hiring a lawyer following a car accident to manage the legal process. You can also avoid going through mental trauma by hiring a lawyer. When choosing an auto accident attorney, it’s important to consider their experience, reputation, and communication style to ensure they are the right fit for your needs.

Here’s a look at some common injuries you might have from a car accident:

1. Head injury

Head injuries are common in car accidents and can be serious. They include concussions, skull fractures, brain hemorrhages, and contusions. They can be life-threatening even if they don’t cause long-term damage to your brain or other body parts.

Head injuries are unpredictable—sometimes they’re minor and sometimes severe—so it’s important to get proper medical care right away after an accident occurs. Your doctor will examine you for signs of injury like nausea or vomiting; blurred vision; ringing in the ears; headache or dizziness; drowsiness; loss of balance (ataxia); double vision (diplopia); numbness/tingling along one side of the body (hemiparesis).

In some cases, you may need to consult a neurologist to evaluate and treat potential complications from a head injury. Neurologists can provide critical care for long-term symptoms like persistent headaches, memory loss, or cognitive impairments following a car accident.

2. Spinal cord injury

A traumatic spinal cord injury can cause serious harm and long-term disability, but there are steps you can take to minimize your recovery time.

A traumatic spinal cord injury occurs when a person is hit in the neck with sudden force (for example, by a car accident). This causes damage to the spinal cord itself—the main nerve that connects all parts of your body together above your waist. The result is paralysis below their waistline, this means they can no longer move any limbs or use their hands or feet properly.

3. Herniated discs

Vertebral discs are the soft cushions between vertebrae. When they’re injured, they can become herniated, which means they’re pushed out of their normal location. As a result, these discs can cause pain and numbness in your back and legs.

Herniated discs can be treated with surgery or physical therapy (PT). Surgery involves removing part of that disc to relieve pressure on the nerves and restore function to your spine. PT involves stretching and strengthening muscles around your spine—which helps alleviate any tightness caused by injury—and may include exercises to strengthen abdominal muscles as well as stretching exercises for all parts of your body except where you injured yourself during an accident like this one!

4. Bruises and lacerations

Bruises and lacerations are common injuries that can occur in a car accident, but they don’t have to be life-threatening. Bruises are caused by bleeding under the skin. Lacerations occur when blood vessels are cut or torn. This bleeding can lead to bruising on the top of your skin if it gets worse over time, so if you have a bruise or laceration after an accident, see a doctor right away if it doesn’t go away on its own within a week of getting injured.

5. Whiplash

Whiplash is a neck injury caused by a sudden movement of the head. It can cause pain, stiffness, and soreness in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.

Whiplash injuries are often more severe than other injuries sustained in car accidents because they occur when your body moves so suddenly and violently that it can’t absorb all of that impact force into its own tissues as well as it should be able to. This means that whiplash injuries often result in more nerve damage than other types of auto accident trauma.

6. Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue injuries are injuries to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. In a car accident, these injuries can occur from the impact of the accident or from the deployment of airbags. Symptoms of soft tissue injuries include pain, swelling, and stiffness. With injuries like this there may be several months where the pain persists. Whilst the victim might be otherwise okay, moving around and going places might be difficult, which is why opting for RELATYV Mobile Pain Management in North Carolina (or elsewhere more relevant) can be an effective and popular choice to provide appropriate therapy to handle the pain of an injury.

Conclusion

Cars are dangerous machines, and they can cause serious injury if not used properly by the driver or passengers. A person who is seriously hurt in a car accident may have several different injuries, including but not limited to fractures, head trauma, and spinal cord injuries all of which could require long-term care from their doctor or healthcare providers.