City of Manchester, NH Official Website

Home Fire Safety Checklist

How many of these hazards can you eliminate in your home?

If you answer "NO" to at least one of these questions, then the time for action is NOW.

  1. Have you removed all combustible rubbish, leaves, and debris from your yard?
  2. Have you removed all waste, debris, and litter from your garage?
  3. If you store paint, varnish, etc., in your garage, are the containers tightly closed?
  4. Is there an approved safety can for the storing of gasoline for the lawn mowers, snow blowers, and snowmobiles, etc.?
  5. Do you keep your basement, storerooms, and attic free from rubbish, oily rags, old papers, mattresses, and broken furniture?
  6. Is there a sufficient number of metal cans with lids for rubbish and combustible debris?
  7. Are stoves, broilers, and other cooking equipment kept clean and free of grease?
  8. Are curtains near stoves arranged to prevent their blowing over the burners or flames?
  9. Are members of the family forbidden to start fires in stoves or fireplaces with kerosene or other flammable liquids?
  10. Are all of your electrical appliances including irons, mixers, heaters, lamps, fans, radios, television sets, and other devices "UL" listed?
  11. Do all rooms have an adequate number of outlets to take care of electrical appliances?
  12. Have you done away with all multiple attachment plugs?
  13. Are all flexible electrical extension and lamp cords in your home in the open? ( None placed under rugs, over hooks, through partitions or door openings)
  14. Do you keep matches in a metal container away from heat and away from children?
  15. Do you extinguish all matches, cigarettes, and cigar butts carefully before disposing of them?
  16. Do you see to it that there are plenty of noncombustible ash trays in all rooms throughout the house?
  17. Are all members of the family instructed not to smoke in bed?
  18. Do you know that the number to the Fire Department is 911?
  19. Do you have a home escape plan in case of a fire?
  20. Do you hold home fire drills at least once a month?
  21. When you employ babysitters, do you instruct them what to do in case of a fire?
  22. Did your entire family take part in completing this checklist?
  23. Do you at least have a smoke detector on every level of your home, and within 15 feet of your bedrooms?
