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Fire Safety for Pets

3 mins·Mar 12th, 2026
About 40,000 pets die in residential fires each year, most from smoke inhalation, and half a million pets are affected overall. Read below for steps you can take to get your family and your pets out faster. There are also safety measures you can implement to help prevent a pet from starting a fire in the first place.
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Train Your Dogs to Correctly Respond to Alarms

As many pet parents know first-hand, pets may become unsettled or anxious once a smoke alarm sounds, hiding rather than exiting. Dogs can be trained to respond appropriately to smoke or carbon monoxide alarms going off, and either come to find you when it happens or escape outside themselves.

Tips for Pet-Proofing Against Fire

Here are a few items to consider:

  • If you like candles, get the flameless kind. Cat’s tails are notorious for knocking over the real ones.
  • Keep pets away from space heaters or lamps.
  • Get guards for your stove knobs, the child-proof kind, so paws can’t turn them on. Or even take them off entirely if you’re leaving the house.
  • Keep leftovers & flammable items off the stovetop, so pets aren’t tempted to jump up.
  • Use a metal or heat-tempered glass screen on a fireplace and keep it in place.
  • Some pets are chewers. Watch and deter them from chewing through electrical cords.

Preparation

Let’s get prepared. Here are a few items to start your preparation

Make An Escape Plan
Every family should have one. This handy chart from the National Fire Protection Association makes it easy.
Assign Family Members to Account For Each Pet
Know your pet’s favorite hiding spots, so that when the alarms sound, you can grab them and go.
Keep An Emergency Kit or Crate Near the Door
Packed with their food, medication and a leash – it can be a literal lifesaver.

Carbon Monoxide Safety for Pets

Like all members of the family, pets are just as susceptible to the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO). But, some pet parents may not know how to spot the symptoms. Kidde is sharing important advice to help people protect their furry family members.

Safety

Carbon Monoxide Safety for Pets

3 mins·Mar 12th, 2026
But, some pet parents may not know how to spot the symptoms. Kidde is sharing important advice to help people protect their furry family members.
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Sources of Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that is created by any fuel-burning appliance. When power outages occur during emergencies such as cyclones and storms, the use of alternative sources of fuel or electricity for heating, cooling, or cooking can cause CO to build up in a home, garage, or camper and poison the people and animals inside.

Common sources of CO in our homes include:

  • Heaters
  • Gas Stoves and Ovens
  • Generators
  • BBQs
  • Fires & Chimneys
  • Cars

Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Pets

The first signs of CO poisoning in pets are typically nausea and vomiting, followed by difficulty breathing. Most symptoms of CO poisoning or carbon monoxide toxicity in pets are nonspecific, meaning they could easily be attributed to other illnesses. It’s important to keep working CO alarms throughout the home.

Here’s a short list of symptoms:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Laboured or difficulty breathing
  • Sleepiness or lethargy
  • Uncoordinated movement
  • Disturbances in gait
  • Seizures
  • Heart arrhythmia
  • Coughing
  • Deafness
  • Blindness
  • Coma

Detecting CO in Your Home

The best and simplest way to detect the presence of carbon monoxide in your home is with a CO alarm. The way CO travels is different than smoke, it can travel anywhere in the home – even through drywall!

With most homes, one alarm is not ideal protection. Consider installing more than one alarm on each level of your home.

Pay careful attention to rooms where you and your family spend a great deal of time including living areas, bedrooms and hallways.

IMPORTANT: EVERY ALARM MUST BE REPLACED AT A MINIMUM OF 10 YEARS.

In addition to testing alarms once each week and replacing batteries (where applicable), check the installation date too. If you have forgotten when they were installed, there’s a simple fix: look on the back of the alarm for the manufacturing date and add 10 years.

Plan ahead

Save contact information for your veterinarian in a place where you and other family members can easily access it, such as your phone contacts or a cloud-based shared file.

Also, be sure your pet’s microchip information is current in case you become separated in an emergency.

 

Know the Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Most symptoms of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning in pets are non-specific – they could easily be attributed to other illnesses. It’s important to keep working CO alarms throughout the home, and know the signs in your pets.

Smoke Alarms Personal & Home Safety

Autumn Fire Safety Tips

2 mins·Mar 11th, 2026

Autumn is here and as the weather starts to change, we encourage all households to consider fire safety as you prepare your home for the cooler months.

People are starting to think about how to stay warm, particularly in the southern states, with homes starting to be warmed with heaters and fireplaces. The kitchen is also starting to be used more instead of BBQs from the summer season. Residential fires occur the most in the kitchen, so always be fire-safety conscious when you’re cooking.

Check out the list of handy tips and hints below:

  • use candles with caution and never leave them unattended. Ensure they are not in a place where they could fall
  • ensure your heaters are to Australian standard and cleaned and/or serviced prior to winter
  • clean your smoke alarms by using a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust particles, which can hinder the smoke alarms’ performance in a fire situation
  • clear out any rubbish, piles of old newspapers, cardboard boxes and unused furniture and ensure that nothing is blocking the exit and escape points in the home
  • clean your cooking appliances and remove the build up of grease from range hood filters
  • as the leaves start to fall throughout Autumn, keep your garden clear of leaves to minimise the fuel load for a potential fire. Clean the outside of your house by removing leaves from gutters, roofs and downpipes and fit quality metal leaf guards
  • check  power points and power boards to make sure they’re not overloaded and inspect electrical cords and equipment for damage

And of course, households are always better protected from fire by following a few fire safety precautions and having a working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home and in sleeping areas, fire extinguishers within reach in the kitchen and garage and a home escape plan.

Stay safe this Autumn with Quell.

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