According to national fire stats about 84% of all fires are residential fires, and most of these occur in the winter months due to the use of alternative heating devices such as space heaters and fireplaces.

Many of these fire safety sources repeat the logical suggestions that each home should have a working smoke detector and families should practice fire drills.

To this, 1800Prepare adds the following suggestions which are excerpted from the book “Disaster Prep 101″ (found on our books page).

1.  Smoke detectors are great to have and they’re inexpensive, so have at least 2 per floor, and have one that only comes out in winter.  This extra one is meant to be used near your alternate heating devices during the winter when they’re in use.

2.  Some of these extra smoke detectors might be located far away from your bedrooms.  Since the worst time for a fire to occur is when the family is asleep, use this simple trick.  Go get a “baby monitor.”  They’re inexpensive new, and you might find some deals at yard sales or thrift stores.  Put the monitor’s transmitter near your farthest smoke detector and the receiver in your bedroom.  If the smoke alarm goes off in the middle of the night, you’ll be sure to hear it.

3.  When you practice your family fire drills, take turns to allow each family member to be “it,” the one who discovers the fire and warns the others.  Also, be sure to have some realistic practice by performing your fire drill while blindfolded and crawling on hands and knees (IF all family members are physically capable and you’re not doing anything dangerous like trying to crawl down the stairs.  Safety first, even in drills!)

4.  Make sure you have a working fire extinguisher in each area a fire may occur such as the kitchen, garage, and near your clothes dryer.

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