Fire safety reminders from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) has an easy-to-follow checklist for fire safety precautions you can do in your home. Homeowners can review these tips and conduct their own home safety inspection.

Install smoke alarms. Every level of your home, including basements and in all sleeping areas, should have an alarm. Test and dust alarms monthly, replace batteries annually or when you hear chirping and replace any smoke alarms that are 10 years or older.
   
Have a fire escape plan. Practicing a home fire drill can reduce the amount of time it takes to get out of your home safely. In your fire escape plan, have two ways out of each room, a prearranged meeting place outside and remember, ONCE OUT – STAY OUT! Always call 9-1-1 from a safe location.

Install residential fire sprinklers. Smoke detectors are essential in every house. They are designed to detect, not control or extinguish, a fire. Sprinklers can extinguish flames quickly and can reduce the spread and damage to your home.

Make house numbers visible. Are your house numbers clearly visible from the street? Please provide 5-inch numbers with a contrasting background so Fire and Rescue can see you.

Practice kitchen safety. If you must leave the kitchen while cooking, turn off the heat. Do not wear loose clothing while cooking or leave flammable materials like potholders, dishtowels or paper towels around the stove. Never throw water on a grease fire or attempt to move a pan that is on fire.

Do not smoke inside. The #1 cause of house fires comes from smoking in your home. Use ashtrays outside with a wide, stable base that will not tip over and place ashtrays on a surface that will not ignite.

Do not overload electrical outlets/extension cords/circuits. Keep the number of plugs in an extension cord low and check regularly for cracks and wear and tear. Do not run extension cords under rugs or carpets or in high traffic areas and never plug one extension cord into another.

Use candles with care. Keep candles away from anything that can burn and extinguish all candles when leaving the room, going to sleep or leaving the house.

Space heaters need space. Keep fixed and portable space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn and follow all manufacturer instructions. Never dry wet clothing or shoes on space heaters and always turn heaters off when leaving the room or going to sleep.

Put your ashes in a metal can. Properly dispose of ashes in a metal container with a lid. Ashes should be kept in a metal container to cool and be located outside and away from your house. Your garage, house or deck are dangerous locations for ashes to cool.