How Common Are Fires in Apartment Complexes?

4/16/2021 (Permalink)

Fires at apartment complexes occur more often than most people think. In 2020, three apartment complexes in Covington were caught on fire. While the reasons responsible differed, each fire destroyed multiple units. Two of the apartment complexes had to have the entire building demolished due to structural concerns. 

According to an article posted on apartmentguide.com, most apartment fires can be attributed to the following five causes-  cooking, space heaters, electrical malfunction, arson, and appliances malfunctioning.

Most of these are easily preventable by following these fire safety tips:

• Never leave food cooking on the stove unattended 
• Check twice to make sure the stove is turned off before leaving the kitchen
• Store a fire extinguisher in or nearby the kitchen
• Never plug a space heater into a power strip. Only plug them directly into outlets
• Do not overload power strips 
• Only smoke in designated smoking areas and properly dispose of cigarettes
• Do not use appliances with frayed wires
• Contact the office or maintenance team immediately if experiencing electrical issues

For more fire safety tips, please visit nfpa.org.