Here are just a few tips to keep in mind on fire safety in your home:

1. Install smoke detectors. “WORKING” smoke detectors can alert you to a fire in your home in time for you to escape, even if you are sleeping. Install smoke detectors on every level of your home, including the basement, and outside each sleeping area. If you sleep with the door closed, install one side your sleeping area as well.
   
   Test detectors every month, following the manufacturer’s directions, and replace batteries once a year, or whenever a detector “chirps” to signal low battery power. Never “borrow” a smoke detector’s battery for another use – a disabled detector can’t save your life. Replace detectors that are more than 10 years old.
   
2. Plan your escape from a fire. If a fire breaks out in your home, you must get out fast. Prepare for a fire emergency by sitting down with your family and agreeing on an escape plan. Be sure everyone knows at least two unobstructed exits, doors and windows, in every room. If you live in an apartment, do not include elevators in your escape plan. Decide on a meeting place outside where everyone will meet after they escape. Have your entire household practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
   
3. Keep an eye on smokers. Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths in North America. Smoking in bed or when you are drowsy could be deadly. Provide smokers with large non-tip ashtrays and soak butts before discarding them. Before going to bed or leaving home after someone has been smoking, check under and around cushions and upholstered furniture for smoldering cigarettes.
   
4. Cook Carefully. Never leave cooking unattended. Keep cooking areas clear of combustibles and wear clothing with short, rolled-up fitting sleeves when you cook. Turn pot handles inward on the stove where you can’t bump them and children can’t grab them. Enforce a “Kid-Free Zone”, 3 ft (one meter) around your kitchen stove. If grease catches on fire in a pan, slide a lid over the pan to smother flames and turn off the heat. Leave the lid on until cool.