RCFS offer spring cleaning tips for fire safety

If the warmer weather and constant rainstorms haven’t made it clear enough, spring has sprung in Rabun County. And with the promise of a new season, readying your home for the change usually comes along with it.

WRBN News spoke with Rabun County Fire Service Assistant Chief Justin Upchurch about spring cleaning tips that can also tackle proofing your home for fire safety.

Upchurch said a good place to start is to check anything that you’ll be planning to use the most of, like a grill or smoke alarm(s).

“It would be a lot of what they’re going to use the most. If they plan to start out the year by grilling a lot, then it would be a good idea to check their grills out,” Upchurch said. “Smoke detectors too. Hopefully, everybody changed the batteries when the time changed, but if not it’s never too late to do that.”

Upchurch expanded on how to properly “spring clean” your grill before you fire it up for the season.

“If you haven’t used your grill all winter long, then you’ll probably want to take a look at it to make sure animals or insects haven’t built nests on the inside. Also, make sure to check your hoses if it’s a propane grill,” he said. “Check for rust if your grill sits outside.”

As far as doing any laundry goes, make sure that your dryer is up to shape and you thoroughly clean the lint from it.

“Dryer lint accumulates inside the dryer hose. So a good idea while spring cleaning is to either buy a new hose or blow all the lint out with a vacuum,” he said.

Lastly, although it may be an optimal time for bonfires, Upchurch said to air on the side of caution and make sure you are well prepared before having an outdoor burn.

“We’re starting to see a lot of people do outdoor burning. We had a really wet winter so a lot of people we’rent able to get outdoors and burn their leaves or anything from the yard,” Upchurch said. “You just need to be careful with your outdoor burning. It doesn’t take but a couple of days of dry weather and the danger increases with outdoor burning.”