Home and Apartment Fire Safety Tips

Fire is the most devastating threat to any structure, but particularly to multi-unit dwellings. The risk of fire is ever present, especially during the winter heating season. It can occur without perceptible warning and as a result of innocent, though perhaps negligent acts. The residential fire’s effect on life and property is always appalling. The big variable in fire risk is what the tenants decide to do in the privacy of their rental unit. A fire started in one apartment unit can place a dozen or more families in the street bereft of all their worldly possessions. A few simple steps enacted by the landlord can limit the risk.

Equip your unit with an adequate number of smoke detectors, properly placed and maintained. Make sure the tenant knows how to test the detector and warn them about the dangers of removing the battery. The TMHA inspector knows that Section 8 tenants removing the detector’s battery is often a point of concern for landlords. Twice per year, at 6 month intervals, send a reminder to each tenant about checking the battery. In the case of elderly or disabled tenants, offer to do it for them. Encourage your tenants to report non-functioning detectors, emphasizing that there will be no repercussions to doing so.

Supply a fire extinguisher for the kitchen. A great many fires start there. Show the tenant how to check it and how it works.

Never overload a socket. In particular, the use of "octopus" outlets, outlet extensions that accommodate several plugs, is strongly discouraged.

If your rental unit is equipped with a fireplace or a wood stove, take the time to talk about it. Show the tenant how to work the damper in the fireplace and the features of the wood stove. Supply fireplace tools, instead of assuming the tenant will do so. Do not neglect the chimney. You might consider having it swept yourself, and factoring the cost in the rent, rather than relying on the tenant to do it.

In many older homes, the capacity of the wiring system has not kept pace with today's modern appliances. Overloaded electrical systems invite fire. Watch for these overload signals: dimming lights when an appliance goes on, a shrinking TV picture, slow heating appliances, or fuses blowing frequently. Call a qualified electrician to get expert help.

Recommend that the tenants buy renter’s insurance on the contents of the rental unit. When the rental agreement is signed, you could supply a list of three insurance agents who deal in tenants’ policies, without recommending any particular one.
Having done these things, the final step is to keep your eyes open. When you make visits to the rental, look at it with an eye to fire safety. In this way, you may be able to avoid the fire catastrophe. In any event, you will need far less luck to do it.
 

Landlord Tip

Never be in too much of a hurry to re-rent your vacant unit or do a special favor for a prospective renter that you feel sorry for. Landlords typically get into trouble when they are in a hurry to re-rent a vacancy. They should take their time and follow all of their routine screening procedures to ensure the stability of the people they are contemplating renting to. A bad tenant can cost two or three months rent minimum, twelve times the week it may cost you to follow up on all of the information on the rental application. The second most frequent cause of landlord pain is doing good for a prospect that the landlord feels sorry for. No matter what is done, sooner or later the landlord will end up regretting such good deeds. Treat all prospective tenants fairly, and treat them consistently but remember to eschew special deals or exceptions to your normal standards for occupancy.

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