4 Ways to Protect Your Assets from a Fire

It’s Fire Prevention Month, so that means that it is time to remind ourselves of fire safety and maybe even learn something new about being fully prepared if you do happen to experience a fire in your home.

The following 4 tips, are geared more toward making sure you, the home owner is prepared if there happens to be a fire on your property.

1 - An Escape Route

One of the most important parts of fire safety is having the escape plan in place and making sure that each member of the household knows what to do and where to go if a fire happens to start in your home. The people in your household are the most valuable assets to you. It is a good idea to do this part of the your fire preparedness with the whole family.

2 - Property & Casualty Insurance

This is also referred to as P&C insurance. It is essential to inventory everything that you have and evaluate what it would cost to replace the item if it happens to be destroyed in a disaster. This is calculating more than just what the item is worth today, but it is coming up with the cost of what it would actually cost to get a new item. For example, let's say you have a stove and today it is valued at $600. If that stove gets damaged in a fire in your home it will cost you more than $600 to replace it. Due to the depreciation value of the stove, you may have to calculate the replacement cost to be closer to $1,000 in your P&C insurance policy. This kind of insurance will give you the footing you need to reestablish your property after an unfortunate event.

3 - Fire Proof Your Documents

One of the best ways to prepare for a post-fire situation is to keep all of your documents safe. Every household should have a fire proof safe for storing their most important documents. Paperwork such as your deed, insurance info, identification, birth certificates and some emergency cash is always best kept in a fire proof safe. That way it will survive a tragedy and you can more easily get the help you need in order to recover your assets. Keep in mind that having another copy off-site or in the cloud is further protection.

4 - Property Inspection

Now, no one wants to have a fire in their home. So it is best to take preventative measures to help eliminate potential fire hazards. One way to do this is by hiring a professional home inspector to come and analyze your property’s fire risk potential. When an inspector comes out they will look for things such as exposed wires, faulty electrical boxes and other things around the home that could increase your chances of having a home fire.

Hopefully looking at these 4 ways to help protect your assets in case of a fire was helpful and gave you a well rounded way to evaluate your fire preparedness. In order to be ready for anything that could come your way, you need to be ready and that means having the escape plan, taking preventative measures and securing all of your needed documents.

Should you have any questions about your next home inspection for your Houston home, scheduling one today or inquiring about what to do before you sell your home, please feel free to Contact A-Action Home Inspection with those questions as we are always happy to help.