By David Wilson, Owner/Operator – Odd Jobs Willie & Willie’s Custom Kitchen Cabinets
October is National Fire Prevention Month, making it the perfect time to give your home a safety check. As cooler weather arrives, families start running dryers more often, plugging in space heaters and lighting fireplaces. These seasonal changes make October the best month to catch risks before they become emergencies.
Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Many homeowners only think about them when they hear the dreaded low-battery chirp at 2 a.m. The problem? By then, the detector may have been silent for months. We once met a family who assumed their detectors were working — until a kitchen mishap filled the house with smoke, and not a single alarm went off. Testing takes just seconds and can be life-saving.
Don’t overlook the dryer vent. Lint is highly flammable and builds up quickly, even if you clean the lint trap. Pulling the dryer away from the wall once a year and cleaning the vent hose dramatically reduces risk. One homeowner told us they noticed clothes taking longer to dry; the cause wasn’t the dryer at all but a vent so clogged it was a fire waiting to happen. After cleaning, not only was it safer, but laundry dried faster.
Inspect fireplaces and chimneys. Creosote, the byproduct of burning wood, builds up in chimneys and can ignite. A local family shared that they hadn’t cleaned their chimney in over a decade. When they finally had it swept, the chimney sweep removed buckets of debris. Waiting any longer could have meant a dangerous fire. If you haven’t scheduled a chimney inspection in years, October is the time.
Space heaters deserve extra care. They’re convenient for chilly nights but account for nearly half of all heating-related fires in the U.S. Place them at least three feet from curtains, bedding, or furniture, and never plug them into extension cords. We’ve seen homeowners melt outlets because the wiring wasn’t built to handle the load.
Fire extinguishers and escape plans matter, too. Every home should have an extinguisher in the kitchen and garage, and family members should know where they are. Practice a quick escape plan, especially if you have children. In the stress of an actual fire, muscle memory helps.
Most of these are simple tasks — checking alarms, cleaning vents, reviewing safety plans. They’re about prevention, not repair.
But when fire safety ties into bigger upgrades — like rewiring outdated electrical systems, remodeling laundry rooms to properly vent dryers, or updating storage around fireplaces — that’s when it makes sense to contact us, Odd Jobs Willie, at (850) 591-0672 or Email oddjobswillie@gmail.com. With decades of remodeling experience, our team handles the larger projects that make homes safer, more efficient and ready for every season.
