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THE HILLS HOMESTVLE April Ml Page Loss Preventions Specialist lays blame on homeowners What some people do In their basements is almost criminal In act Karl Biermann often cant tell toe arsonists from the inno cent homeowners As a Loss Prevention Specialist for Wellington Insurance in Halifax Biermann inspects homes after the tragedy of a fire Arsonists he says put a fire accelerant kerosene gas cleaners or hair spray near the furnace Dogs are trained to sniff out the presence of these substances but the irony is that your average homeowner often places things like paint cans and cleaners too close to the furnace In a recent incident an open can of paint thinner was left on a bench near the furnace in the basement of a triplex the night the fumes were ignited by a spark from the furnace leading to a fire that destroyed twothirds of the building Smoke alarms woke all the occupants for tunately and none were injured You may have your own brand of Molatov cocktail stored away in your house We have to cover a homeowners carelessness says Biermann and this sort of carelessness costs everyone by driving up claims and premium costs to say nothing of the lives It en dangers In his job as a Loss Prevention Specialist Biermann supervises home inspections of many pro perties Wellington Insures aler ting homeowners to dangers and hazards they were unaware of In some cases he will insist the hazard be remedied or removed before an Insurance policy is Issued Its in the best interest of all our customers not to offer coverage in a risky situation and to advise people of a potential threat to their safe ty You can do your own home in spection with some tips from a pro What should you be looking for Were in the basement so lets start there The furnace as Bier puts it Is to many the box downstairs Homeowners he said dont appreciate that it needs air to breathe Proper vtn- ting in the area around the fur nace and via the ductwork is essential for a safe efficient fuel bum An annual checkup and pro fessional cleaning by your fuel company or one of its agents is a must The heating season may be coming to an end but now is a good time to get rid of all that precious stuff thats ac cumulating and creeping close to the furnace Take a minute too to clear the that has collected in the hose that vents the dryer Biermann recalls a recent case where on en tire house was destroyed by a fire resulting from lint igniting while the dryer was in use and the fami ly was out for the evening It was six weeks before the family could return to their home says As I mentioned a little while ago my daughter Belinda has been receiving phone calls from A Boy she knows and Im find ing it hard to adjust While I have to admit that hes quite polite Im always tempted to grill him about his life plans his family tree and just why he thinks hes good enough for my daughter Oh Phil my wife Em goes Hes only for goodness sake I thought I was the only one who wanted Belinda to be our little girl again until 1 found Em poring over the baby picture albums She was tucked away in the small alcove off the kitchen which Ive always planned to turn into a mud room Aha I said seizing a damp Kleenex which had hurried ly stuffed between the cushions of the lumpy old couch Im not the only one who isnt sure about these gentlemen callers I caught her redhanded and then we sal down together to look at those old albums again As silt ihcrc the sun poured in through the window and as usual had strate gically placed himself in a shaft of sunlight And then I had an idea The sun was heating this room beautifully in the middle of March Wc were going to ren ovate the kitchen anyway so why not make this into a really nice little I liked the idea of using the sun to heat the room and it was an ideal location the room faced south and was free from shade Em would also have a great place for her plants in win ter and maybe it could be sort of a sanctuary for her or me or both of us when needed a break from Kyle and Belindas flourishing social lives Its worth looking into and I bet I can get some info from The Hydro Now if I could just get some info about this boy whos calling Belinda Oh Phil Em gig gled back to her usual self shoving the photo album back onto the shelf Hes just a kid This newspaper in conjunc tion with Ontario Hydro is bringing you Phils Basement to help bring home tdcas on how to save energy To receive the brochure Plan For Energy Efficiency call Ontario Hydro at and tell them Phil sent you Biermann and a few moments could have prevented it But even with monthly cleanings you should never leave the house with the dryer running Still in the basement all cleaners and paints should be sealed tightly in metal con tainers including any oily rags you keep Highly flammable or combustible liquids should be taken outside to the garage or a shed where they cannot be ig nited by a spark from the furnace or water heater The kitchen is another key area to look at Keep the over clean and dont store flammable ar ticles above it And mount an all purpose fire extinguisher close by Cooking fat is a common cause of house fires Always use a CSA approved thermostatically controlled sealed deep fryer never an open pot on the stove Care is the watchword in the says and this extends to the variety of hazardous materials stored under the sink Aerosols clean ing liquids and the fumes given off by mothballs are all flam mable and should be kept well away from any heat source The hazard symbol on household products should be noted and make sure your children understand them ad vises Biermann For this reason its important to store these pro ducts in their original containers never put bleach for example into an old juice jar The bathroom also has its dangers Keep medicines and disinfectants out of childrens reach Dispose of old prescription medicines or over the counter drugs that are passed their ex piry date Throughout the rest of the house living room dining rooms and bedrooms Biermann looks for overloaded electrical outlets and extension cords Extension cords should never be run under carpets and I check to make sure theyre in good condition Outlets are designed to serve two ap pliances Period Any more than that puts a strain on your wiring and is an electrical fire waiting to happen Make sure your TV and stereo system have space around them to prevent overheating and keep portable heaters at least three feet away from bedding or cur tains Always turn heaters off when you go to bed Finally and perhaps most im portant of all check your smoke detectors My experience has shown me that while most people have a smoke detector most do not have enough and many are not in good working order says You should have a smoke detector outside each bedroom and on each additional level of the house including the base ment Test them each month clean them twice a year and change the batteries annually Never borrow the batteries for something This year make the spring cleanup routine more than shak ing the rugs and cleaning the win dows Take a closer look and make sure your home is safe for your family Your Wellington In surance broker offers a number of home safety brochures to help you Survey Completed Wednesday March This survey is prepared to help the Herald Vyie Banked Trust Company mortgage WIN WORTH OF GROCERIES from TWO CHANCES TO WIN be held Sat April 1991 ami Mm April 29 1991 How to Win Find Hie word or symbol In Die ads In today Homestykj notion This weeks mystity wont Is FBI out the ballot below and drop It off at any of these locations Moore Parte Plan NRS45MovntahkwRdN ReMax- 360 St Mystery Number of times Mystery Won appeared Name Address Phone Number Date Publication Postal Evening