Fires are one of the most devastating things to happen to a home or business. Unlike other disasters, it often comes without any warning, leaving people at a higher risk. This, coupled with the fact that fires are far more devastating overall, makes it incredibly important to prevent a fire from happening in the first place.
Although property fires occur less frequently, they can happen to you. At Fortitude Public Adjusters, we want to provide prevention tips that will help you be prepared and safe in the event of a property fire.
Milwaukee and U.S. Home Fire Statistics
If a house fire has never happened to you before, you may not realize how serious the threat is. In 2023, U.S. fire departments responded to approximately 1,389,000 fires (house fires, wildfires, electrical fires, etc.), which led to approximately 3,500+ fatalities nationwide. Unfortunately, home fires account for the majority of these tragedies (roughly 2,800 of those deaths mentioned above were from residential fires).
Closer to home, Milwaukee has seen an alarming number of deadly fires. At the start of 2023, Wisconsin was tied for 10th in the nation for home fire deaths. And by late 2023, at least 13 people had lost their lives in 18 residential fires in the city. These sobering stats underscore why fire prevention is literally a life-or-death matter in Milwaukee.
Biggest Cause of Property Fires
Before we dive into these important fire prevention tips, it may be beneficial to understand the elements that increase the risks of fires in the first place. According to the pie chart and information provided above, cooking is by far the leading cause of home fires, followed by heating equipment (those darn Wisconsin winters), electrical malfunctions, and careless accidents.
Additionally, winter months and holidays increase fire risks due to heating devices, holiday lights, and heaving cooking use. Understanding these risks is the first step– next, we’ll cover how to prevent fires, increase preparedness, and minimize damage.
Milwaukee Home Fire Prevention Tips
1. Identify Potential Fire Risks/Hazards
The first step to preventing a fire is to identify the most common ways a fire can occur (like in the pie chart above). You can then take a look around your home or business to see if any of these factors are at risk. Doing a brief checklist every 6 months or so can go a long way in catching issues before they turn into a hazard.
The most common causes of fires in a home are:
- Cooking accidents
- Heating appliances (space heaters, etc.)
- Electrical fires
- Smoking
- Candles
- Christmas tree fires
The most common causes of fires at businesses are:
- Cooking equipment
- Heating equipment
- Electrical and lighting equipment
- Smoking materials
Knowing this, take a look around and see how a fire might start. Do you have cooking equipment like pots and pans that need replacing? Are you leaving space heaters on overnight? Is there electrical wiring that you’ve been meaning to fix? Answering these questions could save you big down the road.
2. Smoke Alarms and Modern Detection Technology
One of the simplest and reliable fire defenses is often the most overlooked. Working smoke alarms are your first line of defense when it comes to initial fires. The Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) stresses that every home needs functioning smoke detectors on each level and in sleeping areas. Tragically, many fatal fires in Milwaukee involved homes with no working smoke alarms, especially in rental units.
To combat this, MFD has a team that will hand out and install smoke detectors for free in residents’ homes. There’s no excuse to go without this life-saving protection.
Smoke alarm tips:
- Install and maintain alarms in every bedroom, on every level.
- Test alarms and replace batteries regularly (test every month, replace batteries every year).
- Use smart smoke alarms that are interconnected throughout the entire space and can integrate with your smartphone.
- Wisconsin law requires CO detectors in homes with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages. Many combination smoke/CO units are available.
- Check out new tech: Smart sensors and services go beyond smoke detection. One example is the Ting electrical sensor, a smart plug device that monitors your home’s wiring for hazards 24/7. Insurance companies have begun offering devices like Ting to customers; as of 2024, State Farm provided over 669,000 Ting sensors to homeowners. These sensors have prevented potential fires thousands of times by catching issues like arcing wires or faulty outlets early. While not free for everyone, this kind of technology is becoming more accessible and can be an extra safeguard.
3. Kitchen & Heating Safety Tips
Two of the most common locations for fires are the kitchen and areas with heating equipment. As mentioned before, cooking is the main cause of the majority of home fires. An average of 158,000 cooking fires occur each year nationwide. Heating devices are another leading cause (especially during Wisconsin winters). Here is how to stay safe:
- Never leave cooking unattended on the stove. If you have to step away, turn off the burner.
- Keep your stove area clear from anything flammable – dish towels, paper towels, packaging, etc.
- Turn pot handles inward so they are less likely to be knocked over.
- NEVER throw water on a grease fire!
- Clean your stove and oven regularly to prevent grease buildup.
- If a fire starts in a pan, cover it with a lid and turn off the heat. For an oven fire, turn off the oven and keep the door closed. Never try to carry a burning pan – you could spill fire on yourself or spread it.
Take precautions with heating equipment:
- Inspect space heaters before use and keep them at least 3 feet away from anything that can catch fire.
- Always plug space heaters into a wall outlet, not an extension cord (the power from space heaters can burn extension cords). Remember to turn off space heaters when leaving.
- Have your furnaces or fireplaces inspected and serviced annually.
- Get your chimney cleaned each year to prevent creosote buildup (a leading cause of chimney fires).
- NEVER use the oven or stoves as a heating source. This is extremely dangerous due to carbon monoxide and the risk of open flame. Instead, seek proper shelter or use safe alternatives.
- Do not leave electric blankets unattended (unless they are specifically rated for unattended/overnight use).
- If you use candles, never leave them unattended and keep them at least a foot away from curtains or anything that could catch fire. Better yet, consider battery-operated flameless candles for the ambiance without the risk.
4. Preventing Electrical Fires
Electrical fires are another leading cause of house fires and can be particularly dangerous because they often smolder behind walls. Older Milwaukee homes may have aging wiring that isn’t equipped to handle modern-day tech usage.
According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, an estimated 24,000 home fires (per year) in the U.S. are caused by electrical issues, causing around $1.5 billion in property damage.
Tips to prevent electrical fires:
- Professional inspections
- Avoid overloads on electrical outlets and extension cords
- Upgrade safety devices
- Research cord and outlet safety
- Use smart sensors
- Invest in surge protection
By staying on top of your home’s electrical health, you can greatly reduce the chance of an electrical fire starting. It’s an investment in safety that also pays off by preserving your property (and peace of mind).
5. Fire Safety Planning and Home Preparedness
As kids in middle school, we are taught to have a safety plan in place for fires at home. As adults, this is a practice that we should continue to follow. A solid fire escape plan and safety tools can save lives and reduce damage if a fire does break out:
- Plan and practice your escape plan. Identify two exits from every room, if possible (typically a door and a window).Designate a safe meeting spot outside, away from the potential dangers.
- Keep at least one fire extinguisher on every level of your home, especially in the kitchen. Learn how to use it before a fire happens–remember the acronym PASS (Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side).
- Invest in Fire Blankets to help contain smaller fires or even use them on someone who is at risk of catching on fire.
- Make sure windows are not nailed/painted shut, and keep stairways and exits clear of clutter so nothing blocks a quick escape.
- Teach all members of the household, especially children, how to respond to a fire alarm: roll out of bed, crawl low under smoke, check doors for heat with the back of the hand, and use an alternate route if fire is outside the door. Guests or new roommates should be briefed on the escape plan as well.
- Take advantage of community fire safety education programs.
- Remember, no one should ever go back inside a burning building to look for people or pets. Leave this up to the professionals.
Having an escape plan and basic firefighting tools can make all the difference in an emergency. Your priority should always be getting everyone out safely and calling 911 – property can be rebuilt, lives cannot.
Documentation and Preparedness for Fire Claims
From an insurance perspective, being prepared for a fire before it happens is just as important as preventing one. Here are some tips to be insurance-ready (based on our own experience from being Public Adjusters):
- Review your insurance coverage, read your homeowners or renters insurance policy, and understand what is covered in the event of a fire.
- Create a home inventory of your personal belongings that you have NOW, before anything happens. This can be as simple as going room to room and video-recording everything while narrating details, or keeping a spreadsheet of major items.
- Keep copies of important documents: insurance policies, birth certificates, passports, property deed, etc. Keep these documents in a fire-resistant safe, off-site storage, or online cloud storage (that can be accessed online).
- It may sound odd, but keep proof of your fire prevention efforts. For instance, receipts for smoke alarms or fire extinguishers, records of electrical inspections or upgrades, etc. Not only do these help demonstrate you were a responsible homeowner (which can be useful if there’s ever any dispute), but some insurance companies offer discounts for safety upgrades. Check with your insurer if you’re eligible for any rate reductions by improving your home’s fire safety.
- If the worst happens and you experience a fire, focus first on safety and getting the fire department on scene. Once the immediate crisis is over, notify your insurance company promptly to start the claims process. Take lots of photos or videos of the damage before you start any cleanup. Do not discard damaged items until the insurance adjuster has seen them.
- Fire claims can involve a lot of paperwork. Keep a dedicated folder (physical or digital) for all correspondence with the insurance company, contractors, inspectors, and receipts related to the loss. Note dates of calls and who you spoke with. This record can be very useful if there are delays or issues in the claim.
- Insurance companies love to try and show that you were negligent and that a fire could have been prevented to try and reduce your claim. If you show that you took steps to prevent a fire from happening in the first place and that you had a plan in place, you can save yourself a big headache later.
By preparing financially and logistically, you’ll be in a stronger position to rebuild your life after a fire. You can learn more about Wisconsin fire loss prevention and claims with our guide: Wisconsin Fire Loss Claim Resource: Navigating Fire Loss Claims with Fortitude Public Adjusters.
Local Fire Safety Resources for Milwaukee Residents
There are additional resources at your disposal for fire safety and recovery:
- Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD): For non-emergency fire safety questions or to request smoke alarm installation, you can reach out to the MFD Community Relations office. As noted earlier, they will provide free smoke detectors and installation to Milwaukee residents who need them.
- MFD’s Survive Alive House program: “The Survive Alive House uses the Be Sure to Be Safe program to teach the safe way to escape from a burning building. The Milwaukee Fire Department, Milwaukee Public Schools Division of Recreation and Community Services operate the House jointly.”
- Milwaukee Smoke Alarm Hotline: If you do not have a working smoke detector, you can request one to be installed by calling the Milwaukee Fire Department Smoke Detector Hotline 414-286-8980.
- American Red Cross of Wisconsin: The Red Cross has a “Sound the Alarm” program where they team up with local fire departments to install free smoke alarms in homes and provide safety education.
- Community organizations: Groups like the Milwaukee Safety Building Coalition or local neighborhood associations sometimes distribute flyers or host workshops on fire prevention (especially if there has been a local fire incident).
If A Fire Happens, Get Out! Then, Contact Fortitude Public Adjusters
One of the most common ways that people get injured or lose their lives in a fire is because they spend too much time either A) putting the fire out or B) trying to gather personal belongings.
Our advice in any case of a fire is to GET OUT. While you may have many things in your home or business that have sentimental value to you, your life and the lives of others around you are ALWAYS more important.
Overall, fires are one of the most devastating and life-threatening experiences anyone can have. If you do end up with property damage from a fire and are not sure what to do, give Fortitude Public Adjusters a call first (after calling 911, of course)!
