National Fire Prevention Month
October is National Fire Prevention Month, and the entire holiday season is filled with wonderful traditions that can also cause house fires, from frying turkeys to cozy fireplaces to lit candles on furniture or in windows. Please keep your home and family safe.
Winter Fire Safety
•Half of all home heating fires occur from December through February,1-in-7 home fires and 1-in-5 home fire deaths involve heating equipment.
•Keepanythingthatcanburnatleast3feetfrom any heat source, like fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, or space heaters.
•Keep portable generators outside, away from windows, and as far from your home as possible.
• Plug only 1heat-producing appliance, like a space heater, into an electrical outlet at a time.
•Store cooled ashes in a tightly covered metal container that you keep outside, at least 10 feet from your home and any other buildings.
Holiday Fire Safety
•Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve; Christmas is the peak day for candle fires!
•Don’t leave cooking unattended. Stay in the kitchen when pots are on the stove, and in the house when the oven is on.
•Keep matches and utility lighters out of reach of children.
•Keepcandlesatleast12inchesawayfrom anything that burns.
•Consider using battery-operated, flameless candles, and don’t ever leave children alone with lit candles.
•Read the manufacturer’s instructions for the maximum number of light strands to connect.
•Keep Christmas trees at least 3 feet from heat sources–more than 1 in 5 Christmas tree fires were caused by being too close to a heat source.
•A dry tree can burn very hot and very fast. Keep trees well-watered and remove after Christmas or when dry.
General Fire Safety
•Test smoke alarm sand carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month.
•Change batteries twice a year. You can use the WinterandSummersolsticesasremindersordoitnow,ifyouhaven’tinawhile.
•Have a qualified professional clean and inspect your chimney and vents each year
If you think there might be a gas leak ,get everyone out of the house before calling us and the fire department, and if you have an oil-heated system and there is a strong smell or soot around your equipment, call us immediately for emergency service. If you have any other concerns about your heating system ,please give us a call. This is the season of warmth, let it also be the season of safety!