Five minutes. That’s how little time it takes for a fire to totally consume a home, according to Ready.gov. And as fire streaks through a house, it isn’t just the flames that are deadly. Super-heated air can melt clothing and burn lungs, while blinding smoke and toxic fumes disorient and suffocate people trying to escape. It goes without saying: seconds count when you’re trying to get out of a burning house.
But if that house belongs to a hoarder, getting out becomes a challenge that costs precious seconds—if not minutes. And putting out that fire is a dangerous challenge, too, for firefighters. According to the National Fire Protection Association, fire departments are more frequently encountering “serious fires, injuries, and deaths as the result of compulsive hoarding behavior.”
Because Space Makers Junk Removal often gets calls to haul off junk from homes cluttered by hoarding, we want to make everyone aware of the fire hazards caused by hoarding. In addition, we want to offer some information on how to reduce hoarding clutter in order to reduce fire risk. Hopefully, this information will save lives—yours or someone else’s.
WHAT IS HOARDING, ANYWAY?
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), hoarding is a complex mental disorder in which a person has persistent trouble letting go of items, even if that person doesn’t really need or value them. That person suffers genuine distress at the thought of discarding possessions, and as a result cannot let go of even simple items or items others regard as trash. As a result, that person’s living space become so severely cluttered that it causes relationship problems, family problems, health risks, and safety issues. People with hoarding disorder often find themselves isolated and lonely, says the American Psychiatric Association, and their hoarding can lead to problems doing simple tasks like cooking or bathing.
HOW IS HOARDING A FIRE RISK?
The home of a hoarder is usually filled—sometimes floor to ceiling—with possessions. Those possessions can consist of piles of newspapers and magazines, stacks of junk mail or books, piles of clothing, boxes of items like shoes or collectibles, bargain buys, parts to things, sports gear, old appliances, and more. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), hoarded items become a fire hazard when
- objects block windows and doors that could be used for escape
- flammable items (paper, cardboard, chemicals) in the kitchen could catch fire during cooking
- open flames from candles, cigarettes, or matches could ignite nearby clutter
- portable heating units are placed near piles of clutter, or they’re placed on piles and tip over
- electrical wiring—especially old wiring—becomes damaged from the weight of clutter on it
- pests like mice hide in the clutter and then chew on electrical wiring
HOW CAN HOARDING KILL IF THERE’S A FIRE?
The home of a hoarder becomes deadly for both the occupants and the rescue personnel during a fire.
CLUTTER FUELS A FIRE
A small fire can turn into a big fire in 30 seconds. A room filled with flammable items like paper, cardboard, clothing, and synthetic materials will accelerate that fire. In only one minute, smoke will begin to fill the room. After about five minutes, the whole room will be full of flames and smoke.
CLUTTER MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO ESCAPE QUICKLY
When a home catches on fire, smoke quickly fills the space. If someone trying to escape can’t see, it’s easy to get disoriented within stacks of items. In addition, objects that catch fire can shift and collapse, blocking pathways out. Even if a person knows the way out of a home, he can be injured if he trips over items or pulls them down on top of himself.
CLUTTER PREVENTS FIREFIGHTERS FROM ENTERING
If a home is too cluttered, firefighters can’t get past the clutter to find victims, and they can’t get inside to douse flames. They don’t know their way around, so they’re going in blind, so to speak, and if they find a maze of objects, they’re going to waste valuable time trying to navigate around those piles of stuff.
CLUTTER CAN CAUSE THE HOUSE TO COLLAPSE
As firefighters spray water on a fire, the objects inside get soaked—and heavy. Piles of heavy, water-logged items can cause floors, walls, and ceilings to collapse.
CLUTTER PLACES FIREFIGHTERS IN DANGER
Firefighters inside the home can become trapped when exits get blocked by too much clutter, and they can be injured by shifting piles and objects falling from piles.
CLUTTER PUTS NEIGHBOR’S HOMES AT RISK, TOO
Homes that are close by risk catching fire, too, and those living in them are at risk for smoke damage, even if their homes don’t catch on fire. In addition, yard clutter at the hoarder’s home can get in the way of firefighters if they have to battle flames on surrounding structures.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PREVENT THE RISK OF FIRE IN A HOARDER’S HOUSE?
Because hoarding is a mental disorder that needs professional help, convincing a hoarder to declutter—or offering to help her declutter—isn’t always going to work. Rather than trying to “cure” a hoarder, instead try to reduce the risk of fire in his or her home. The NFPA recommends the following courses of action:
TALK ABOUT SAFETY RATHER THAN CLUTTER
Approach a person who has hoarding disorder with respect, and talk to him or her about making their home safer by trying to declutter. Point out places where clutter is too close to potential fire sources, like stoves or heaters, and suggest decluttering there.
CREATE AN ESCAPE PLAN
Urge the person living in the home to draw a map that shows pathways to safety and exits in case of fire. Ask them to practice getting out of the house using those routes, particularly in the dark, with their eyes closed, or while crawling on the floor. Tell them that if they place new items in their home and that changes the map, they need to make a new one.
MAKE SURE SMOKE ALARMS WORK
Install smoke alarms in every room and on every level of the home, and make sure the alarms work by testing them often. Replace batteries in them twice a year.
HAVE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS ON HAND
Place fire extinguishers in several places, particularly the kitchen.
The NFPA also recommends contacting the fire department to make them aware of possible fire risks at a home, as well as reaching out to services that might help people with hoarding disorder make their homes safer.
CONTACT SPACE MAKERS JUNK REMOVAL TO CLEAN OUT A HOARDER’S HOUSE
