National Pet Fire Safety Day – Keep Your Dog Safe at Home and Away!

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Each year the lives of approximately half a million pets are affected by fire in their home, with close to 1,000 of those fires accidentally caused by a dog or cat. To extinguish the concerns of pet parents, the American Kennel Club and ADT Security teamed up to tackle this hot topic by hosting National Pet Fire Safety Day every July 15 with tips that will help to protect both the two-and four-legged members of your family!

Tips to Prevent Fires Caused by Pets

Put out open flames.

Make sure that no flame– be it from candles, cooking appliances or a fireplace– is within reach of your barking buddy or purring pal. A cat or dog can easily tip over a votive candle with their tail, so remember that no flame should ever be left unattended.

Purchase flameless candles.

Offering the warm glow of a wick candle without the worry, the light of a flameless candle comes from a harmless light bulb.

Remove stove knobs, or use stove knob covers.

Dogs and cats can accidentally turn the ignition knobs on a stove, which is the number one place for the origin of a house fire.

Related Post: Live Near Wildfires? Vet Advice on Keeping Your Dog Safe

Use stainless steel or ceramic water bowls on wooden decks.

Never leave a glass water bowl outdoors on a wooden deck! The shafts of sunlight which stream through the glass can act as a magnifying glass, heating up and igniting a fire. Opt for a ceramic or stainless steel pet bowl instead.

Keep your furry friend near the front door when you are not at home.

Ensure that firefighters have easy access to your pets by keeping your dog or cat in rooms near your home’s entrance. To further aid firefighters, collars and leashes should also be at the ready in case of an emergency.

Keep puppies safe with a crate or baby gate.

Keep curious young pets in a secure area of your home, far from any household item that may start a fire.

Install a monitored smoke detector.

While battery-operated smoke alarms can alert pet parents of a fire while a person is at home, a smoke detector connected to a monitoring system allows emergency responders to be informed of a fire even if you are not present.

Inform firefighters of family pets with a pet alert window cling.

Affix a sticker to a window at the front of your house alerting firefighters to the number of four-legged family members reside in your home.

These simple tips can help keep your dog safe on National Pet Fire Safety Day — and every day!

Fire Safety for Pets in Offices

Of course, fire safety doesn’t end at home–it includes every place you and your dog will go.

More and more businesses are becoming pet-friendly, permitting employees to bring their dogs to work. That means it’s especially important for workplaces to have a plan to keep those furry office workers safe in the event of a fire.

Trupanion and the Seattle Fire Department offer tips to create a fire evacuation plan in pet-friendly offices.

This time of year, the danger of fire is always on our mind, thanks to our ongoing drought and high wildfire risk here in Texas. It’s a topic, though, that is important everywhere throughout the year since fires strike homes and businesses every single day. Many of those fires impact pets.

The National Volunteer Fire Council reports that fires affect half a million pets each year and nearly 10 percent of those pets do not survive.

Today we received these tips from Trupanion, a pet-friendly workplace with more than 90 dogs and cats. Trupanion’s office fire safety plan was developed in collaboration with Seattle Fire Department officials and incorporates tips for ensuring protection, safe evacuations and communication with emergency personnel.

Trupanion’s Pet Fire Safety Plan

• Evacuation maps need to be available to everyone. Post them in every conference room, bathroom, kitchen and copy room.
• It’s important to stay calm and not panic. Pet owners should try to keep their pet as calm as possible.
• If smoke and/or fire are detected, and the fire alarm has not sounded, locate the nearest fire alarm and pull it.
• Calmly exit the building through the closest exit indicated on the evacuation map. Do not attempt to collect personal belongings. Pet owners should bring their pet with them, making sure the pet is on a leash at all times.
• Pet owners should not attempt to retrieve their pet if they are not with them when the alarm sounds. Institute a “pet buddy” system – the pet buddy will evacuate their buddy pet if the owner is unavailable, or the fire evacuation team will evacuate pets left in the office.
• Exit as quickly as possible so the fire department can perform rescue operations if necessary.
• Conduct routine fire drills to ensure that these best practices become second nature.

Looking for more pet holidays? Check our Pet Holiday Calendar!

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