Safety

We recently did a Level 2 Cleaning and Inspection for a buyer of a beautiful new home – at least new to the buyer!  Unfortunately, they were very concerned about the fact that the home had a fireplace, yet had no chimney.  No chimney, you ask?  Yes, no chimney.One of our favorite things to do is educate clients about fireplaces and chimneys, so we were glad to have this opportunity to share what we know about ventless fireplaces, which are becoming more common in the Jacksonville area only recently despite having been sold in the United States since 1980.

In a voluntary agreement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, fire extinguisher manufacturer Kidde has recalled more than 40 million fire extinguishers due to a defective plastic handle.  The extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to activate, posing a risk of failure.  There have been 391 reports of Kidde extinguishers failing to function which have resulted in one death, 16 injuries, and 91 reports of property damage.  This may not seem like much, and it’s true that you seldom have a problem that requires need of a fire extinguisher… but when needed, they must work!