It is estimated that over 350,000 house fires occur in the United States every year. It is easy to assume that this kind of thing could never happen to you, but even careful people make mistakes, and it only takes one second for a horrible accident to occur. At Boise Water & Fire, our fire damage experts have everything needed to help you get back on your feet. From smoke cleanup to contents restoration to post-fire repairs, our restoration professionals have got you covered. However, as any restoration expert will tell you, the best way to keep your property safe from a house fire is to ensure one doesn’t happen in the first place. Keep reading for what you need to know about the top causes of house fires, and remember that if you do experience a fire in your home, Boise Water & Fire is available 24 hours a day.

The Top 5 Causes of House Fires

1. Cooking: As we’ve discussed before, the kitchen is one of the most common place in the home to have a fire. Cooking with oil, using a gas stove, popping things in and out of the microwave; doing any of these things wrong can have devastating consequences. The bottom line is that you have to be careful while you’re cooking. Don’t leave anything unattended, be mindful of what you put in your microwave, toaster, and oven, and don’t use any outdated appliances. And speaking of appliances…

2. Electrical Equipment: Electrical fires cause approximately 51,000 deaths in this country every year. A lot of this stems from faulty wiring. For instance, if you see an outlet suddenly sparking or smoking, that usually means there’s some damaged or faulty wiring behind it. As alluded to above, there’s also malfunctioning appliances to consider. And sometimes fires occur because a light has overheated. With all this in mind, there’s one electronic device in your home that must be kept operational at all times—the smoke detector. A working smoke detector can mean the difference between thousands of dollars in damage and a house that just needs to be aired out.

3. Heating: A malfunctioning furnace or boiler can be extremely dangerous for your property, which is why it’s important to hire a qualified HVAC technician to inspect your equipment at least once a year. Even more dangerous, however, is any kind of portable/space heater. These devices are the second biggest cause of house fires and house fire-related injured in the United States. The problem is that as soon as you put a heater too close to a wall or to a piece of furniture, it becomes a fire risk. If you use a portable heater, make sure to consult the instructions before plugging it in, don’t position it near anything even remotely flammable, and watch out for the cord, too.

4. Candles: We all love a good candle during the holidays or on a romantic evening. But candles account for 3% of all house fire deaths, and 6% of house fire injuries. In fact, candles cause about 21 house fires a day in the U.S., so the next time you light up, make sure you are paying attention. Candles should never be allowed to burn when you aren’t home, and moreover, should probably be blown out anytime you leave the room. The same applies for when you are about to go to bed. Also, if you have any fans or HVAC equipment that could send an errant ash flying, make sure to light your candle far away from it.

5. Smoking: On the list of the MANY reasons you shouldn’t smoke, you can add house fires. Smoking inside leads to 5% of all U.S. house fires, and this is on top of the thousands cigarettes kill every year through disease. If you must smoke, try to do it outside, and – much like lighting a candle – make sure you never fall asleep with a cigarette or put one down and let it burn while you are out of the room.

At least once in your years as a homeowner or as a renter, you are likely to have to face a frequent enemy – water invading where it isn’t wanted. Maybe it happened due to an emergency event such as a hurricane, or maybe it was the result of something else, such as a plumbing leak or an appliance malfunction. Or maybe it was the unfortunate day your water heater developed a crack and gave up the ghost (We all know this happens only on weekends or holidays). And then, there is even the possibility that you aren’t at home when it happened; maybe, you were even on a cruise to nowhere. Now, you have to face it and learn about the cleanup process. For most Boise Idaho homeowners the first thought is how much is the water damage restoration going to cost? Here is a basic guide to the cost and process involved when restoring your Idaho home from water damage.

1. There Is More to Water Damage Repair Than Using a Wet-Dry Vac.

According to, a major franchiser in the water damage restoration market, drying out the space is only the beginning. Once you remove the water, the space needs to be thoroughly dried. And, then there is the lovely odor that lingers. Additional disinfecting and sanitizing may also be required, especially when you consider that the source of water may not be from a clean river stream. While estimates put the cost of $2700 for the average job, the estimate grows to $7500or more if there is more severe damage.

2. Not All Water Is Created Equal.

The website fixr estimates the cost of water restoration as between $2000 and $5000 while categorizing water damage into three categories with differing prices for cleanup. “Clean Water” is without chemicals or fecal material. “Grey water” also does not contain fecal matter, but there may be a small amount of contaminant and it could cause health issues if you drink it. Finally, “black water” is every Meridian Idaho Homeowners nightmare. It is contaminated with either toxins or human pathogens or some of each. This final category would occur most frequently through sewer backups or leaks from toilets. The cost of cleaning up black water will be nearly twice as much as cleaning up a clean water problem.

3. There are Different Classes of Water Damage.

Fixr also breaks down water damage according to Classes. Class 1 jobs affect only small areas with minimum moisture while Class 2 would involve a large area with more moisture. With a Class 3 leak, water often leaks from above and impacts large parts of walls, ceiling, and floors. And let’s hope you never get a challenging Class 4 leak, which involves specialized water damage jobs with difficulties in reaching the areas impacted. By class 4, the estimates grow to $2500 and above. This doesn’t include the cost of mold removal, which according to www.hgtv.com could run from $500 to $6000, depending on the extent of the infestation.

4. The Cost to Rebuild Damaged Areas?

Once the water is under control, reconstruction may begin after the area is totally dried out and the initial problem solved. This will not be cheap. After all, you may need to replace drywall, replace carpeting or flooring, repaint and more. Maybe, your hot water heater will have to be replaced or your shower tile removed and retiled. So, extracting the water is only the beginning. Flooring alone could run into thousands of dollars. Home Depot estimates a total cost for installing a solid wood floor at $7.80 per square foot. If we are talking about your 400 square foot living room, we are over $3000 just for that one repair.

5. What About Your Homeowner’s Insurance?

If you have a fair amount of damage above your deductible, it may be time to file a claim with your homeowner’s insurance company. According to the Insurance Information Institute, if your water heater bursts or a pipe bursts upstairs and the ceiling below is saturated, your homeowner’s insurance policy may cover it. If you have a lot of damage, you may decide to hire a Public Adjuster. This is similar to the concept in real estate where you hire your own buyer’s agent, since the real estate agent typically represents only the seller. Although your insurance company has its own adjuster, that adjuster is paid by the insurance company and may not have your best interests at heart.