Excessive Clutter Can Cause Fire Damage

6/8/2017 (Permalink)

Excessive clutter contributed to the start of this fire.

On a Saturday morning in Runnemede this electrical fire broke out in a cluttered basement.  Fortunately no one was injured.  Clutter is the scattering of many personal items within a building, and specifically, within a certain area(s) of that building. Hoarding is one of the main causes of clutter, and while hoarding is in itself a harmless practice, it could have devastating results if a fire were to break out.

Hoarding/clutter can be dangerous for a wide variety of reasons during an emergency. When trying to move around a cluttered room, mobility is limited. That limitation becomes exponentially more hazardous during an emergency situation. Safe and rapid movement may be made difficult and dangerous for residents, which make a safe escape near impossible. Clutter not only increases risk for the occupants of the building, it also increases the risk for the safety personnel trying to combat the flames and save lives.

With extensive clutter, firefighters may have difficulty finding walls or structural landmarks in the building, especially with already dangerous smoky conditions. In addition to the conditions the clutter generates, it is also a “fuel” for the fire to continue to use to burn, prolonging the emergency and the damage. Many items that hoarders save are flammable. This compounds the damage and, as a result, the price to repair or save the building.

Hoarders must be aware of these risks and should take precautionary steps to avoid a disaster situation. If hoarding is something you cannot avoid, be sure to keep all flammable clutter away from electrical sockets or wires, any source of excessive heat, and any other potential fire-starters.

Tips for restoring fire damaged property

For help restoring your residential or commercial property after a water or fire loss, call SERVPRO of Haddon heights/Voorhees 24/7/365 at 856-566-338.  We’ll make it “Like it never even happened.” #preventfires