Guide · 4 minute read
Generator safety at home
Most homes in Kano run a generator for part of every day. Most generator fires and fume poisonings start the same few ways, and every one of them is avoidable.
By the Shieldpro inspection team. Example article for this demo.
We inspect hundreds of homes a year, and the generator is the first thing we look at. Not the machine itself, but where it stands, where its fuel is kept and where its fumes go.
Distance and air
Keep the generator at least 3 metres from windows, doors and air vents, and never inside the house, the garage or a closed shop. Its exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which you cannot see or smell.
The generator house
A ventilated generator house with a roof, open sides or vents and a concrete floor is the safest place. Keep it clear of old tyres, cartons and spare fuel.
Fuel
Store petrol and diesel in approved cans, outside the house and away from the generator. Never refuel a running or hot generator; switch off and wait ten minutes.
Cables
Use a proper changeover switch, not a cable pushed into a wall socket. Overloaded extension boards and taped joints cause more fires than the generator itself.
Alarms
Fit a carbon monoxide alarm near the bedrooms and a heat alarm or an automatic suppression unit in the generator house.
In short
The rules.
3 metres
From any window, door or vent.
Never indoors
Not in the house, the garage or a closed shop.
Fuel outside
In approved cans, away from the generator.
Cool before refuelling
Switch off and wait ten minutes.
Changeover switch
No cables into sockets.
Alarms
CO near bedrooms, heat in the generator house.
Read next
Choosing the right extinguisher
Check your own building
Our free checklist covers all of this.