With “National Pet fire safety Day” approaching on July 15th, Goodnewsforpets is sharing some essential information on how to keep our furry pals safe from home fires. We recent celebrated June’s national Pet Preparedness Month, but pet safety is an integral part of responsible pet ownership and a year long practice.

To help decrease the estimated 500,000 animals affected by home fires each year, The American Kennel Club and ADT safety and security services launched “National Pet fire safety Day” in 2009. nearly 1,000 house fires every year are unintentionally started by the homeowners’ pets, according to a data analysis by the national fire protection Association.This nationwide awareness day educates pet owners about potential risks when animals are left home alone and offers them with proven prevention steps to guarantee their safety.

The AKC has offered the following suggestions to help safeguard your home and loved ones from accidental fire:

Prevent Your Pet From starting Fires

Extinguish open flames – Pets are typically curious and will examine cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. guarantee your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.

Remove stove knobs – Be sure to remove stove knobs or safeguard them with covers before leaving the house. According to the national fire protection Association, a stove or cook top is the top piece of equipment involved in your pet starting a fire.

Invest in flameless candles – These candles include a light bulb rather than an open flame, and take the danger out of your pet knocking over a candle. Cats are notorious for starting fires when their tails turn over lit candles.

Beware of water bowls on wooden decks – Do not leave a glass water bowl for your pet outside on a wooden deck.  The sun’s rays when filtered through the glass and water can actually heat up and ignite the wooden deck below it. choose stainless steel or ceramic bowls instead.

Keep Your animals Safe

Keep animals Near Entrances When away from home – Keep collars on animals and leashes at the ready in case firefighters need to rescue your pet.  When leaving animals home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.

Secure young animals – Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home such as in crates or behind baby gates in protected areas.

Since animals Left Alone Can’t escape a Burning home – Consider using monitored smoke detectors which are connected to a monitoring center so emergency responders can be contacted when you’re not home. These systems offer an added layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms.

Affix a Pet Alert window cling – Write down the number of animals inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets.  Make sure to update the number of animals listed. You can obtain a totally free window cling by going to www.adt.com/pets or at AKC responsible canine ownership Days events. details are available at www.akc.org.

Source: American Kennel Club