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BY GREG PRICE insight magazine


One’s home is likely the largest investment a working middle-class family will make in their life. Protecting that home to the best of one’s ability should be a top pri-


ority in safeguarding that investment.One way is fire proofing your home, where homeowners may be doing things they are unaware of that are putting their house at greater risk to be engulfed in flames. “I’d say the most common mistake people do is their gas-fired appli-


ances such as water heaters/furnace.People keep those areas full and crowded.You should have a metre spacing where possible of com- bustible materials,”said Steve Swarbrick, captain with the Taber Fire Department. With a majority of fires being electrical, often homeowners buy equipment that they are overtaxing, asking it to do something it was- n’t designed for. “It can start with things like extension cords that were designed not


to constantly have a draw in it. Or it’s an extension chord into an extension cord into a power bar on the end... it’s overloading circuits for sure,”said Swarbrick.“Everyone thinks as long as there is power there, it’s OK. But that cord was never designed to be drawing power at a constant rate. Extension cords are meant for temporary use.” Swarbrick encourages homeowners and potential homeowners/builders to confer with professionals to get the most out of your home. “There are building codes you have to adhere to, and there of


course are smarter ways to build your house to make it more energy efficient and fire resistant. But that’s things you should be talking to your engineer-type outfit about,”said Swarbrick.“There are things like siding.Vinyl sidings are not necessarily the best, there are other fire- resistant features, but of course the price goes up with those fea- tures.”


While there are materials that are built into a house that can make it


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more fire resistant, doing certain activities more responsibly inside that house can also lower the chance that a regional fire department has to pay a visit. “Lots of late-night house fires are started by unattended cooking.


They turn the stove on to cook some hot dogs and they forget about it,boiling it dry. It could be unattended candles which is another one,” said Swarbrick.“Be in the room when a candle is burning,


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