Fire Safety when it comes to Reptile Keeping.

[ChameleonRave]

Well, I was just creating this thread because last night a close friend to my Mom and I had a house fire and lost it all, she has two little girls and luckily no-one was hurt int he fire. This made me think that this could happen to any one of us Reptile owners, especially since we have lights/incubators/heating, on all day for our reptiles while we are out of the house and we could all lose everything. There are many steps you can take for preventing this to happening to you. But what do you use to prevent this? Some of you may keep many reptiles that require the use of electricity, so it might be a good thread to look back to, so you can make some safe changes when it comes to your home and family. so what do you use to keep your house protected from fires. Surge protectors comes to mind, but I would love to know what you all do to keep you house somewhat fire proof.
Zac

 

[JackP308]

Im a worrier . I always make sure I know how many amps and watts im running on my breakers. I use osha approved extension cords connected to GFCI's that can manage the loads I plug into them. I keep fans on most ballasts. Clean and dust light hoods and fans of debris "cat hair" and such. Have electrical fire extinguisher close by as well. That is up to date and made sure its full and ready to be used.

Also I throw out any damaged cords or lights. This year I had a socket melt just from a hood with 2 26 watts bulbs. I have no idea what is wrong with it. I could smell rubber. I checked what some call the point of failure Which is where plug meets wall. I noticed black. Unplugged it , it was melting the cord to my Exo terra hood which is only 2 26watt bulbs. I used the lower socket without any problems though.

 

[fluxlizard]

I have had numerous clamp dome lights fail on me over the years and it can be scary- one had a flame coming up out of the top and burned a hole in the bottom of the cage above it.

They are all a brand that I got back in the mid 90s though.

Now if anything smells or looks funny (bulb burns too brightly for example), I toss the lamp.

I also am very careful not to exceed recommended wattage and am careful about load on my lines.

I had friends of the family back in the 90s who found an iguana at their dumpster. They took it home and kept it even though they didn't know anything about lizards. They went on vacation and left the lamp on a timer for the lizard and the house burned down. Fire department said the wiring in the lamp started it. Nobody knew how to reach them so they didn't find out about it until they returned home.

 

[ChameleonRave]

this past summer. a fire broke out with a lightbulb over my turtle tank. Thankfully I had a ceramic light ficture so it stopped. I cleared out all the animals outside of my house just in case! biggest panic I ever had! my mom wasn't home and i had no phone D:

 

[JackP308]

I think everyone should have a fire extinguisher in your home just in case of any fire. Make sure your smoke detectors have batteries as well. Simple things some take for grant it that can make a difference.

in my line of work we are drilled safety safety safety its almost ridiculous . Sometime its just so repetitive but in the end its better to be safe than sorry as they say.

 

[donnak0125]

I have had numerous clamp dome lights fail on me over the years and it can be scary- one had a flame coming up out of the top and burned a hole in the bottom of the cage above it.

They are all a brand that I got back in the mid 90s though.

Now if anything smells or looks funny (bulb burns too brightly for example), I toss the lamp.

I also am very careful not to exceed recommended wattage and am careful about load on my lines.

I had friends of the family back in the 90s who found an iguana at their dumpster. They took it home and kept it even though they didn't know anything about lizards. They went on vacation and left the lamp on a timer for the lizard and the house burned down. Fire department said the wiring in the lamp started it. Nobody knew how to reach them so they didn't find out about it until they returned home.

I don't know anything about how to check lines, amp etc... I'd like to have an evaluation of my entire electrical system for my home because it is very old with a combo of old and new lines etc... I guess I could call an electrician to do that? I need someone to look at everything even what I have plugged in to the sockets and let me know if it's safe. Any recommendations, suggestions on what to do or what/who to ask?

 

[ChameleonRave]

agreed. I wish we had a fire extinguisher.. we have a fire detector, but living in a trailer home its like a tooth pick on fire..

 

[JackP308]

I don't know anything about how to check lines, amp etc... what/who to ask?

Basic US breaker
15 amp circuit can carry only a total of 1440 watts,which is 80% of the 1800 watts found by mulitplying the volts times amps,15 x 120 x 80%= 1440.

20 amp circuit can be loaded 1920 watts, 120 x 20 x 80%=1920 watts

Most basic keepers unless you have a jacuzzi running off your same line youll be fine. Others that get up there with High wattages need to monitor more closely or make adjustments.

all electronics should be labeled with amp or wattage ratings

 

[Elizadolots]

Fire extinguishers are very affordable. If I were in a trailer home I would have one even if there were no reptiles.

I hadn't really thought about special precautions. The lamps are plugged into a surge protector. We have smoke detectors (one right outside the open {no door} room that houses the chameleon) and a fire extinguisher in the next room. We don't go away on vacations so that sort of scenario would not happen.

I guess I'd recommend everyone have their lights plugged into a surge protected power cord. That gives you 2 places that are not "the lights themselves" to "turn off" the power. You can turn it off at the surge protector or pull the plug on the surge protector. That's the first thing that needs to be done with an electrical fire.

After the power is off, a fire extinguisher can be used. If for some reason that's cost prohibitive (or, you don't want to put the idea of "fire" into the heads of someone else in the house) maybe keep an open box of baking soda nearby. If asked, it's "just in case the cricket stink bothers someone". Once the power is off baking soda is a good fire extinguisher that isn't going to be too hard to clean up quickly.

 

[Syn]

I'm trying to figure out what I'd do for when I'm not home. Week days I am not home for at least five hours a day, and that doesn't include time when I have soccer practice. Going to college soon, I know it will be much more.

I've considered installing a sprinkler system. Not sure what good that would do though if it wasn't a fire that could be put out with water.

 

[ChameleonRave]

Fire extinguishers are very affordable. If I were in a trailer home I would have one even if there were no reptiles.

I hadn't really thought about special precautions. The lamps are plugged into a surge protector. We have smoke detectors (one right outside the open {no door} room that houses the chameleon) and a fire extinguisher in the next room. We don't go away on vacations so that sort of scenario would not happen.

I guess I'd recommend everyone have their lights plugged into a surge protected power cord. That gives you 2 places that are not "the lights themselves" to "turn off" the power. You can turn it off at the surge protector or pull the plug on the surge protector. That's the first thing that needs to be done with an electrical fire.

After the power is off, a fire extinguisher can be used. If for some reason that's cost prohibitive (or, you don't want to put the idea of "fire" into the heads of someone else in the house) maybe keep an open box of baking soda nearby. If asked, it's "just in case the cricket stink bothers someone". Once the power is off baking soda is a good fire extinguisher that isn't going to be too hard to clean up quickly.

I'm curious to how this puts out a fire? I have never heard of that method, I already use baking soda to keep my room not smelling like a zoo. lol

I also just got another power strip for my turtle tank. I have my reptiles spread throughout my room, so I currently have three and all the items that need to be plugged in, already plugged into the surge protectors. Sad to say that if there was a fire in my house, there would be no saving anything in it.. Our trailer home was built in 1972 and isn't in the best shape..

 

[Elizadolots]

Toss it on the fire. It smothers it. It's a classic thing to keep in a kitchen because it can be used to put out a grease fire without completely ruining the food (though, it will have to be rinsed thoroughly!). While I wouldn't want to leave the cage and animal covered in baking soda, I think I'd feel better about having to clean that off rather than what's in a fire extinguisher.

 

[ChameleonRave]

Toss it on the fire. It smothers it. It's a classic thing to keep in a kitchen because it can be used to put out a grease fire without completely ruining the food (though, it will have to be rinsed thoroughly!). While I wouldn't want to leave the cage and animal covered in baking soda, I think I'd feel better about having to clean that off rather than what's in a fire extinguisher.

haha agreed! lol I hope that nothing like this ever happens to anyone on here but just to be safe

 

[Joann]

I have a fire ext. in the kitchen.I also have smoke detectors right above the cages.I keep all cords to heat devices and lights tied down so no cats, dogs or kids can accidentally knock things off.
Everything is checked regularly.I would feel awful if something bad happened because of my insane hobby.
I have to say I dont have everything on surge protectors.I may have to get a few more.

 

[steelheadchaser]

I am writing this from the perspective of being a firefighter/emt for nearly 20 years. Possibly the most important thing you can do to avoid a fire in your reptile area or room is too not overload your electrical outlets. GFCI outlets are good to have if there is water in the area. Extension cords should be of sufficient gauge, high quality and as short as practicable. Multi-outlet devices should not be piggy-backed onto other multi-outlet devices. Surge protectors save electronics from spikes in line voltages. They provide no fire safety function.

Items that get hot or even warm such as light hoods, wires, pumps, etc should not be placed near draperies or other combustibles. Extension cords and wiring should never be covered up by rugs nor should they be kinked, knotted or stepped on. This causes mechanical damage to the wiring, causing increased resistance which in turn makes the cord much hotter. Add that to being close to or covered and insulated by something combustible and you have a lot of potential for trouble.

Smoke and CO detectors save many lives every year. Folks normally succumb to smoke inhalation and CO poisoning long before they are burned. It is a good idea to change the batteries in your detectors twice a year. Many people do it when they set their clocks ahead or back.

If you have a fire already burning it is too late to worry about turning the electrical off. As far as the surge protector being another way off turning off the power, maybe - provided the fire wasn't caused by the wire powering the s/p. but that is really irrelevant. Cutting the electricity will do nothing if there is already a fire burning.

Baking soda is for small grease fires in a pan on the stove. Once a fire starts, things go from bad to "Oh $hit!" very quickly. It is a good idea to have a 2A10BC fire extinguisher in the house for emergencies, such as a very small fire that you might have just started yourself somehow. A 2A10BC is for use on Class A (trash, wood & paper), Class B (liquids & gases) and Class C fires (energized electrical equipment) and cost around $80. You can get them smaller and cheaper than that if cutting costs are important. You shouldn't throw water on an electrical or grease fire, BTW (when the local FD does, it is at around 150 gpm). It's always best to get you and your family out of the house as fast as possible and call 911 immediately. A smoldering fire can turn into a fully involved room fire and then flashover in less then five minutes. Do not delay calling 911!

Obviously prevention is way more desirable then even the most effective suppression. But, if you are going to try to put out a small fire yourself, you still need the proper tools. Have the correct fire extinguisher handy. If a fire is allowed to grow there will be far more to worry about then getting dry chem on your pets.

 

[Syn]

^Awesome post. Seriously.

 

[ChameleonRave]

^Awesome post. Seriously.

Agreed! Very informative! Thank You for sharing!

 

[sagemoon2004]

We had a house fire 4 yrs ago, at that point we were living in a nice, newer modular home. The fire alarms were the standard, (cheap), type that came with the home. Everyone should know that there are better, more sensitive alarms, and it is worth the investment. The original ones did not even go off till we were trying to get out of the house and there was a ton of smoke. Batteries were fine. We also thought we had the fire out with an extinguisher, but it flared back off. This is the terrible part, we had removed the dogs, two small babies, ( my 6 month old and my 1 yr old grand daugher), stood outside deciding to call the fire dept., and I did not remove my two parrots, because we thought the fire was out. Then it was too late and I had to listen to them screaming and could not get back in and help them. Keep in mind that this was all in less then 5 min. You can always look back and see what you should've/could've done. My main point, always have a plan of action for the pets. If I would've had a pet carrier close by for the birds I could've thrown them in and placed them in one of the vehicles we had to move. I hear those poor birds screaming in my head to this day. Also always have insurance on your personal belongings, I thought it was included in my mortgage insurance, I was naive, and we had to start over from scratch. Today we have a beautiful home in the country with 5 acres, but it was a terrible lesson learned, and we now have lots of insurance on every little thing!

 

[Kansascity]

I don't know anything about how to check lines, amp etc... I'd like to have an evaluation of my entire electrical system for my home because it is very old with a combo of old and new lines etc... I guess I could call an electrician to do that? I need someone to look at everything even what I have plugged in to the sockets and let me know if it's safe. Any recommendations, suggestions on what to do or what/who to ask?

That is what I just recently had done, I just got my 4 month old standard poodle back, she would have fits in our back yard near our deck and in the kitchen only! Long story short (electrical current was zapping her!) there was a major grounding issue. Which I had to have fixed, not as costly as I thought actually around 500 bucks he checked every outlet in our home and that happened to be around the same time I started getting these little guys. So he got surge protectors etc and they are set up properly. I agree with the fire extinguisher had to use mine to help put out my fireplace, and most fire dept’s will for free refill the extinguisher if you ever have to use it. Great thread btw.

 

[donnak0125]

Thanks for the fire safety info!