SERVIZ cares about homeowner safety. In our latest Home Safety Rankings (HSR) Index research, we've assembled data and tips that we hope will help keep homes and familes safer. To achieve our findings, homeowners nationwide responded to SERVIZ about their home safety habits, on everything from fire, air, flood, and earthquake safety, to crime prevention. SERVIZ analyzed those responses and integrated National Census data, in order to assign a Home Safety Score for over 100 major metropolitan areas. The result is a comprehensive look at America's home safety habits—and how homeowners can improve them—as well as helpful advice, tips, and links, from SERVIZ, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).

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California

121,241

Total
Annual Crimes

120,241

Your chance of becoming a victim of property crime

53,241

Annual
Theft Crimes

120,241

View All

Don't Know Their Neighbors

Have been a Victim of a Property Crime

Live in Gated Community or Have HOA

The brightness of the holidays can also carry hidden dangers, as shown by the National Fire Protection Association's famously terrifying video here on just how quickly a dried-out Christmas tree fire burns. Tips for added holiday fire safety as noted by the NFPA include keeping your live Christmas tree well-hydrated, choosing decorations that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant, turning off seasonal lights when leaving the room, and upgrading to LED lights, which are far safer than the old incandescent lights (a dangerous heat source). Always blow out candles when leaving the room, as 2 of every 5 home decoration fires are started by candles!

When it comes to holiday home safety, crime prevention is just as critical. This is why SERVIZ suggests several steps recommended by the National Crime Prevention Council, like installing internal or external cameras, installing window stops and better locks as well as flood and motion sensor lights outside the home. The NCPC also recommends using timers on lights for when you're away, and taking a video inventory of your home and its valuables for future reference (also compiling and maintaining a list of item descriptions and serial numbers).

Mold. So colorful, so dangerous. No matter what color it is—black, green orange or red—mold can be harmful to home and health. Black mold can be especially dangerous, with exposure symptoms that can include nausea, vomiting and bleeding in the lungs and nose.
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Your home is filled with hidden dangers, and some of them can kill. First off, make sure you have carbon monoxide and smoke detectors installed in your home and tested regularly—fire injures or kills more than 20,000 every year, so this is a vital step to maintain the safety of your loved ones.
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Sometimes things go wrong, and if it's not a switch in the circuit breaker or the power company at fault, you may find yourself with an electrical issue on your hands. Changing a burned-out light bulb is easy, but dealing with wiring or an exposed socket can be tricky—and, worse, a hazard to your safety.
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I live across the street from a park which attracts suspicious people and drugs. Cars also speed around the park, so fast that they drift. I'm afraid of my child being either kidnapped or hit by a car. I do know my neighbors, but most of the problems come from outsiders visiting the park.

Sharon

I have lived here close to 18 years and so far so good, of course there have been some problems, I'm sure, but nothing that I have had trouble with. But I do keep a watch on things around me. My neighbors have been friendly and quiet. You find young and old, of all races, so far so good.

Thomas

My children are young right now so my biggest concern is them running into the street and accidentally getting hit by a car or there is always a remote possibility of child abduction to think about. We live in a safe neighborhood but these things are always in the back of my mind when they are playing outside.

Michael

732

CO2 Sensors Installed

One of the easiest and inexpensive ways to ensure your home is safe is to make sure you have enough CO2 and smoke sensors installed in your home.

3,158

Dryer & Vent Cleaning

U.S. Fire Administration reports that every year more than 2,900 home fires are started by dryers and dryer vents. In addition to cleaning dryer vents, you should have your air ducts cleaned regularly.

391

Security Cameras and Other Measures Installed

Installing a Wifi security camera is a great and inexpensive way to ensure you can tell who is coming and going around your home.

2,406

Hot Water Heaters Strapped

Always make sure your hot water heater is strapped. This is extremely important in areas prone to earthquakes.

After helping our customers complete hundreds of thousands of home improvement jobs across the country, from carpet cleaning to plumbing, SERVIZ created its Home Safety Rankings Index, covering over 100 major metropolitan areas. What we have learned over the years is that customers, more than anything, want to ensure they maintain a healthy and safe home. Home safety is not just about adding an alarm system or having smoke detectors, it is also about keeping your home well maintained.

Homeowners increasingly want to keep up with their home maintenance to reduce the risk of fires, floods, earthquake damage, and even break-ins. The independent professionals in the SERVIZ network have helped thousands of customers reduce fire risks in their homes by replacing dirty vents and identifying improperly installed electrical switches and outlets. They have also reduced flood and earthquake risks by inspecting and repairing broken water pipes, sewer mains, and making sure water heaters are earthquake strapped and have properly installed overflow vents.

Consumers are also rightly concerned about who is coming inside their home. With that in mind, we created our Home Safety Rankings Index to help all homeowners understand how their city and state ranks for home safety.

Our methodology was as follows: We sent out a survey to 65,000 of our customers asking them how safe they feel in their homes, how they protect their homes, and what their biggest concerns were regarding safety in their homes and neighborhoods. We took our survey responses and used the U.S. Census data that ranks each city on a crime index of 1-100 (100 being the safest). The two data points were then combined to determine our own proprietary safety grade for each city.

Our Home Safety Rankings Index includes actual survey results, quotes from our customers, and the percentage of professionals who sought to join our network that have failed our background check.

We understand how important it is to trust someone who is working to make your home safer. Which is why our standards for accepting professionals into our network are high. Since 2015, we have rejected over 15% of professionals seeking to join the SERVIZ network.

We hope that by providing this level of detail for each city we serve, we are helping communities better understand how they can keep their homes, family, and friends safe.

SERVIZ cares about your home safety, so book one of our independent Handyman Pros today to accomplish such vital home safety tasks as checking your water heater's venting and security (making sure it's secured with an earthquake strap), air duct and dryer vent cleanings, and other home inspection and safety evaluations (all available for a free estimate).

When it comes to our network of independent Pros, SERVIZ further offers a level of safety and confidence that can't be matched by local service directories or online searches, with stringent criminal background checks and mandated maintenance of positive online reviews from all Pros who participate.