Pet Fire Safety Tips That Could Paws-sibly Save Lives

Did you know that more than 500,000 pets are affected by residential fires every year , and about 40,000 die?

Unfortunately, there’s more — the National Fire Protection Association estimates that nearly 1,000 home fires are accidentally caused by pets each year.

We know this is hard to hear. And if you’re anything like us, these facts make you want to run home, scoop your pets up into your arms and never let go. But we want to help you do more than that.

Luckily, there’s plenty you can do about it. We’re going to give you some proactive steps to not only help protect your pet from house fires, but maybe even prevent your pet from starting one. Read on to get some fire paw-tection tips that will make you want to raise the ruff (sorry, we just can’t help ourselves).

Monitored fire detection

Before, when we mentioned that fire safety could even help with accidental fires caused by pets? We weren’t kitten (last one, we swear). Case in point, read this true story from a Guardian customer:

“Early in the morning, I heard my alarm go off while I was still in bed. I instantly felt panicked, but Guardian called me right away. I assumed someone had broken in; I had no idea there was a fire in my kitchen at that exact moment until the Guardian operator told me!
He requested help, and there were two fire trucks outside my home within minutes. The firemen determined my cat must have turned on the knobs on my stove, which caught my toaster on fire. If Guardian hadn’t installed a 24-hour monitored smoke alarm in the back area of my house near the kitchen, the fire never would have been caught so soon. Guardian’s help meant the world to me, and the operator did a great job calming me down. No one was hurt; the damage was limited to my toaster, and I now have childproof knobs on my stove! I am so grateful to Guardian for saving my home and my life.”
Patty A., PA

In the event of a fire, smoke detectors can help you and your pets escape safely. Keep these two things in mind:

1. Install working smoke alarms on every level of your home, and test them at least once a month.

2. A pet who is home alone can’t escape a fire, even if smoke alarms are working — that’s where monitored fire detection makes a huge difference. Monitored smoke detectors are connected to a 24/7 central station who can notify the fire department if a fire starts when no one is home.

Prevention best practices

From the true story above, you already know that stoves and ovens are a potential hazard. It’s no surprise, because cooking is the leading cause of home fires and fire-related injuries.

To prevent curious paws from firing up the oven, you can purchase inexpensive stove knob covers or childproof locks. Or, remove the knobs completely while not in use.

Here’s a few more tips:

Banish pets from countertops and...