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Your fire blanket is one of the best defenses against fires. Knowing how to store your fire blanket ensures that it lasts and can put out fires when needed.
But how exactly do you store your fire blanket properly? Where should you put it? Do you need to keep it in a specific place? Let's find out.
Why You Need to Store Your Fire Blanket Properly
Keeping fire blankets where they're exposed to moisture, extreme temperatures, and harmful chemicals might degrade their fire-resistant materials.
Proper storage helps keep the fire blanket's integrity. It ensures that it'll perform effectively during emergencies. Doing this can also avoid premature wear and tear, which saves you the cost of replacing your fire blanket before using it.
In addition, proper storage can help extend the fire blanket's shelf life, making it a dependable fire safety tool for longer.
Where to Store Your Fire Blanket
Before deciding where to store your fire blanket, consider how accessible and visible that place is. The best location to store your fire blanket is somewhere reachable without opening many drawers or moving things.
Visibility is also important since you should see it quickly if you need more fire blankets besides the one displayed.
For instance, we advise homeowners to store fire blankets in the kitchen. It's because the kitchen is the most common area for small fires, especially electrical and grease fires.
Ideal spots could be near the stove or cooking area but not too close. For instance, you can store an extra fire blanket in a cabinet door. Remember to mount another fire blanket on the wall using a fire blanket hook.
Aside from the kitchen, consider other areas in your home or workplace with many fire hazards. Such places include garages, workshops, and living rooms with fireplaces at home.
In commercial settings, such places include manufacturing areas, server rooms, and laboratories. They contain chemicals and machines that can easily catch fire.
How to Store Your Fire Blanket
Always store your fire blanket in its designated pouch. The pouch should be dry and away from direct sunlight or extreme temperatures.
You should also make sure that the fire blanket is not in contact with fats, cooking oil, and other flammable materials. Contaminated fire blankets can't put out fire and may pose fire risks.
Given this, you shouldn't store used fire blankets that touched fire. Most fire blankets are used for emergencies and are not designed to be reused. However, you can store tougher ones like the Emergency Fire Blanket and Hero Fire Blanket again as long as they're not damaged after use. Just wipe it off, fold it, and put it back in the pouch.
You can also store the fire blanket again if you pulled it out after a false alarm (e.g., when you turned off the stove on time to stop the fire). If you want to know if you can reuse your fire blanket, read our guide here.
Conclusion
Properly storing your fire blanket is just as important as having one. Correct storage ensures that you maintain the blanket's condition and effectiveness, extend its lifespan, and save money in the long run.
If you want reliable fire blankets that you can use and store again (as long as they're not damaged), check out the Emergency Fire Blanket and Hero Fire Blanket now!