It Can Happen! 

I think everyone pays attention to information to keep them and their families safe, especially at the holiday season. However, I also believe that we generally think that it won't happen to us. Below is what happened to a West Michigan resident when they went on vacation.

"We were home and 20 minutes away from walking out the door when we noticed smoke escaping from the drawers under our snack bar."

We had a 'junk' drawer that we kept batteries in, new, not used, along with other items. I had earlier tossed some more loose double A's in the drawer and evidently one end made contact with a foil pack eye glass cleaner and it ignited. The firefighters were very surprised, they had heard of batteries making connections and melting things but not actually igniting... So it was 3 weeks of restoration work, the sink/sink base cupboard, dishwasher , and all the cupboards and drawers under the snack bar had to be replaced including all the counter tops, and the kitchen, dining area, hallway and living room had to be repainted. All the furniture and carpet cleaned, the air ducts were all cleaned, so needless to say that part was a blessing! But the biggest was that we saw the smoke to warn us - otherwise the girls and I would have been out the door and my husband would have come home from work 2 hours later to... I don't even like to think about it. We now have a battery organizer to store our batteries."

Another item to watch was in the news in 2006 regarding laptop batteries. Laptop batteries have started several fires in the air and on the ground. The heat produced on some of these batteries can be enough to ignite their surrounding material. Dell as a recall on several models. Check out www.dellbatteryprogram.com to check yours. As with any item that can produce heat or a spark,  precaution is the name of the game. Contact your local fire department with additional questions you may have regarding fire situations or materials that can cause a fire. Make sure you have your safety fire tips reviewed which would include new battery in your smoke detectors. You can always replace items you own.

Everyone in the home should be aware of what to do in an emergency. Keep what is most precious in your home safe ­ you and your family!

This article courtesy of Victoria Nelson of the Kieft Insurance Agency - serving the lakeshore. 616-842-8270 - www.LakeshoreInsuranceSpecialist.com