How to Help Firefighters Work with a Hoarder’s Home?
1. Avoid piles of clutter that present collapsing hazards for firefighters.
2. Avoid piles of items that block pathways for firefighters that endanger their lives and may stop them from being able to do their job. This is a problem because the pathways may not be wide enough to fit people through or allow for people to be carried out of the home by firefighters in the event of a fire.
3. Avoid improperly storing explosive and toxic materials that may result in fires, explosions, and or toxic fumes. These can range from gas, propane, plastics, feces, or other materials that a hoarder may keep in their home.
4. Avoid blocking exits from your home that may result in a situation without a quick exit for firefighters, yourself, and your loved ones in case of a fire emergency
Impacts of Hoarders on Firefighters:
In many cases hoarding can increase the likelihood of a fire and can create issues in regards to how firefighters can safely fight fires.
Hoarding can cause fires to occur when:
- The people in a home accidentally expose flammable materials they are hoarding to a flame they started themselves (ex: cigarettes, gas stove, candles, etc.).
- The items stored in a room create a situation where if a chemical reaction occurs that starts a fire that flammable item is exposed to it can quickly start burning out of control.
- When a home is not well maintained it can cause the electrical and gas lines to deteriorate to a point where they can stop working and or start a fire.
-Note: In urban areas where people live close together hoarding situations can endanger the entire community.
For these reasons it is important to know the ways in which hoarding situations present dangers and difficulties for firefighters to help avoid these situations in the first place.
How to avoid fire safety hazards?
At Address Our Mess we specialize in Hoarding cleanup service which brings your home back to a clean and safe environment and on the road to recovery, avoiding hoarding fires in the first place and not exposing firefighters to hoarding related risks if there is a fire.
If you need help or if you hear about or see a home that needs help from a qualified specialty hoarding cleanup service, than give us a call 410-589-2747, use our Contact Us page, or email info@addressourmess.com.
We are here to help! Our crews and technicians are experienced individuals who can help a homeowner return their property to a clean and safe condition!