In December of 2008, on the last day of a roof repair in my complex, a worker using a torch improperly started a fire. I was working from home that day. From maybe 150 feet away, I saw my neighbors’ building at right burn from the top down.

Months later, I was hired for a fire restoration project in another coop. The fire started in the primary bedroom and was electrical.

The photo below is in the room where the fire started. You’re looking up, through the new floor joists, into the bedroom that was above his.

Circled in red are the soot marks that came up through the cracks where the ceiling/floor met the walls. Also, through the outlet, meaning smoke came up between the walls, out of the outlet.

Thank God, the firefighters, and working smoke and CO2 detectors, everyone got out ok, both times.

Fire is a terrible thing. If you’re so unfortunate as to see it firsthand, it’s visceral. Its speed, and scale of its destruction will gut you.  Today, years later, I still stop every White Plains firefighter I meet in public and thank them. And just that brief retelling will usually start the tears.

I’m in a lot of houses, and am shameless about fire prevention and fire safety, and urge my fellow home professionals to do the same. 

• Overloaded outlets or multiple surge protectors, electric cords running under carpets, lights that flicker, large and inactive accumulations of papers, and lack of clear egress are some of the troubling things I see.
• Are smoke and CO2 detectors in the right quantity, in the right places? Are they intact?  When were the batteries changed last, and how old are they? If they can’t remember, I urge them to think very hard about changing them now.

The color of the plastic case is an easy tell, it yellows mightily with age. Old smoke detectors are a big ugly against white ceilings, and as a stager, I add that buyers see new smoke detectors as an indication of a well-maintained house.

Sorry, not sorry to use aesthetics shaming, or financial interests as a motivator to keep loved ones safe.

Code will vary between municipalities, but general requirements in Westchester are a smoke detector in each bedroom, outside sleeping spaces, at least one on every floor of a house, including the basement. Its been my experience that the ones near the kitchen often get disconnected because poor ventilation can set it off, and the ones in attic and garage are forgotten.

Working smoke and CO2 detectors save lives. Period. Your small investments of time and money can prevent unimaginable amounts of heartache.