Safety Tips

Home Safety Tips

Check your smoke alarm regularly and replace the batteries as needed
Avoid unsafe cooking practices.
Avoid storing unnecessary flammable liquids in your home or attached garage. Never store propane cylinders in your home or attached garage;
Do not use unsafe electrical appliances. Do not overload circuits;
Twice a year, tighten fuses in the panel or check circuit breakers for free operation

Wood Burning Applicances

Although there is nothing like the warm glow of a wood fire on a cold winter’s night, fireplaces and wood stoves present insurance issues. There are five points the insurance company will be concerned with:

Is it an approved unit? It should be certified by Underwriter’s Laboratories of Canada (ULC), The Canadian Standard Association (CSA) or Warnock Hersey;
Did a professional install it?
Was a building permit issued?
Are the clearances up to the latest building code and fire code? There is no “grandfathering” of this requirement;
Is the venting system proper? Ideally there should be no elbows in the stovepipe and it should be as short as possible.

Having a properly installed wood heat system and making it safer means the best possible premium for insurance coverage. You should inform your insurance company or broker whenever a change is made to the wood heat system. This includes adding or changing a wood stove, modifying a chimney, anything that may influence the safety of the wood heat system.

Wood Stove Safety Tips

Keep a properly maintained fire extinguisher nearby at all times;
Move combustible items as far away from the wood burner as possible;
Use only clean paper, newsprint and dry kindling to start a fire. Never use an accelerant like gasoline, kerosene or lighter fluid;
Burn seasoned wood only. Wet or green logs may cause a combustible residue to build up inside your chimney;
Never burn trash or garbage in your wood burner;
Close the door of your wood burning appliance as soon as it’s lit and immediately after loading new logs;
Have a smoke detector nearby;
Inspect it at least twice a year for corrosion;
Have it cleaned on a regular basis

Protecting your HOme during the Winter Months

Keep sidewalks and steps clear of ice to prevent someone from falling on your property;
Clean eaves-troughs. Remove any leaves or debris, Ice and snow can build up in eaves-troughs that are clogged with debris;
Make sure fireplaces and wood-burning stoves are properly cleaned and maintained annually;
Contact your broker for an inspection when installing a wood-burning unit;
Make sure buildings are properly heated at all times;
Drain plumbing lines and turn off the water to vacant or unused buildings.
Ice Damming Brochure (Download Below)

Oil tanks

The following guidelines must be met for approval of the oil tank:

Outside tanks must be less than 20 years old;
Inside tanks must be less than 25 years old;
Tanks must be ULC certified;
Tanks must be in good condition (ie: no rust on tank);
There must not be any signs of leakage;
Must rest on a solid non-combustible surface;
Oil tanks must not be touching wall, resting on wood or wood supports raised on stacked blocks;
Tanks must be above the ground..

Preventing Sewer Backups

It is important to:

Shut off the main water valve, even if you are going away for a weekend. Pipes can spring a leak and cause extensive damage in a short time;
If you are going away from your dwelling for more than four consecutive days during the heating season or if your house is vacant, it is important to do one of the following:
- Have a competent person enter your dwelling daily ;
- Shut off the main water valve and drain all the pipes,
- Have your dwelling monitored electronically 24 hours a day by a company that monitors and responds
- If you have not done one of the above, insurance will not cover loss or damage caused by freezing or resulting water damage.
Insurance will not cover water damage if your building has been vacant for more than 30 consecutive days and if hasn’t been reported to your insurance company;
Consider installing a back water valve or sump pump to prevent sewer backup if you don’t already have one;
If you are a snowbird and away for an extended period of time please notify your agent so your insurer can be told.

Furance Safety Tips

Schedule an Annual Tune-Up

One of the most important aspects of an annual furnace tune-up is making sure your system is running efficiently and safely

Keep the Area Around Furnace Clear

minimize chance of fire by keeping hazards clear of Furnace
Avoid storing anything near furnace
Never Store flammable products or materials near furnace

Change your Furnace Filter

dirty filters will restrict airflow to furnace
dirty filters will overwork the system, resulting in higher energy bills
by not replacing your filters your furnace may overheat and an overheated appliance can run the risk of starting a fire or causing major problems with the unit.
it is recommended to change your filter at least once a year