By Property Management Systems

PORTLAND, Ore. – It doesn’t matter how long you’ve owned your Portland Rental Property, fire safety should be a priority for you because one fire could destroy your rental property, and you will lose all of your rental income, that’s why in this article we will share our best fire safety tips.

Tip #1 – Make Sure Smoke Alarms Are Functioning Normally

Having functioning smoke alarms at your Portland Rental Property should be a priority because they can literally save lives and ensure that a fire is put out before it can cause extensive damage to your rental.

To ensure the best success with smoke alarms you should have one alarm placed in each room of your rental property, including hallways, to ensure that should a fire occur, your tenants will hear the smoke alarm and be able to get to safety immediately.

Tip #2 – Test Smoke Alarms Every 90 Days

Once smoke alarms are correctly installed at your Portland Oregon Rental Property you should schedule smoke alarm maintenance every 90 days since this will help you to know if the batteries are still good and the smoke alarms are functioning normally.

While servicing the smoke alarms in your Portland Rental Property every 90 days, you should also verify how your tenants have arranged the furniture in each bedroom of your rental property and confirm that the doors to the bedrooms are not blocked.

This is important because more fire-related deaths occur in the bedroom each year when firefighters or emergency responders are unable to enter a bedroom. Fire-related deaths in the bedroom can be prevented by ensuring that bedroom doors are not blocked and can still be easily opened by anyone during a fire.

Tip #3 – Stop Kitchen Fires

Did you know that about fifty percent of all residential fires each year occur in the kitchen?

You can stop potential kitchen fires from happening in your Portland Rental Property by installing a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and instructing your tenants how to use it.

Besides having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen of your Portland Rental you should also offer your tenants instruction on how to put out small grease fires with baking soda should they not be able to reach the fire extinguisher when it’s needed.

Safe Home Cookin’

Be a safe chef in your home by remembering these safety practices, and prevent a fire from ever starting:

• Don’t leave your cooking unattended. Checking your email or watching TV can wait until you’ve switched off the burner.
• Keep cooking area clean to prevent grease buildup.
• Have nothing flammable near the stove. Keep curtains, potholders, dishtowels, food packaging, and Moms recipe cards away from the stove.
• Roll up your sleeves, tuck in your shirt, and pin back long hair.
• Heat cooking oil slowly. Be patient with those French fries; heating oil too quickly can easily start a fire.

Cooking Safe with Your Little Chefs

It may be unavoidable for kids to resist the pleasant smells wafting from the kitchen. Kids often want to help cook, so bear in mind the following tips:

• Enforce a kid-free zone. Young children should be kept at least 3 feet away from the stove while older family members are cooking to avoid accidents and spills.
• Use the back burners, and turn pot handles toward the center of the range. This will keep hot items out of a child’s reach and reduce the risk of spills.
• Teach children that hot things can burn.
• Never hold a child while cooking.

If A Cooking Fire Starts:

• Water and grease don’t mix. In the event of a grease fire, NEVER POUR WATER ON IT. It will spread. Use a fire extinguisher, or when in doubt, get out and call for help.

• Put a lid on it. If a pan catches fire, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the stove burner. Leave the lid on until it is completely cool.

• Keep the oven or microwave door shut if a fire Turn off the heat. If the flames do not go out immediately, get out and call for help.

• Stop, drop, and roll. If your clothes catch fire, smother them on the kitchen floor before getting out of the house.

Tip #4 – Develop A Fire Escape Plan

Last of all, but most important, one important thing you should do when renting your Portland Oregon Rental Property to new tenants is to develop a fire escape plan for your tenants and follow up with them every 90 days to make sure that they remember how to escape the rental property should a fire break out.

The goal with a fire escape plan is to not scare your tenants, especially small children, the goal with a fire escape plan is to make sure your tenants are aware of how to escape the rental in the event of a fire and avoid confusion, which could cost them their lives.

If your rental property has two floors, you should place an escape ladder in the bedrooms of your Portland Oregon Rental Property, and your tenants must be made aware of how to use an escape ladder since they will offer your tenants another way out of your rental property.

Get Property Management for Your Portland Oregon Rental Property

For affordable property management for your Portland Oregon Rental Property contact Property Management Systems today by calling us at (503) 515-3170 or click here to connect with us online.