Fire Safety Tips

Keep your family safe with these prevention measures

Smoke Alarms Save Lives

The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half with working smoke alarms.

  • Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home, including the basement.
  • It is best to use interconnected smoke alarms so that when one smoke alarm sounds, they all sound.
  • Test all smoke alarms at least once a month.
Woman testing smoke detector
Make an Escape Plan

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Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape once the smoke alarm sounds.

  • Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Draw a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.
  • When you walk through your plan, check to make sure the escape routes are clear and doors & windows can be opened easily.
  • Choose an outside meeting place a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet after they have escaped. 
  • Once you're out, stay out! Under no circumstances should you go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, inform the 911 dispatcher when you call. Firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.
Blow Out Candles

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More than one third of candle fires start in a bedroom.

  • Blow out candles when you leave the room or go to bed.
  • Keep candles at least one foot away from anything that can burn.
  • Never leave a child alone in a room with a burning candle. Keep matches and lighters out of children's reach.
  • During power outages, use flashlights, not candles, for lighting.
Prevent Heating Fires

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Half of all home heating fires occur in the months of December, January and February.

  • Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from any heat source, including fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators or space heaters.
  • Install and test carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month.
  • Have a qualified professional clean and inspect your chimney and vents every year.
  • Store cooled ashes in a tightly covered metal container and keep it outside at least 10 feet from your home and any nearby buildings.
  • Plug only one heat-producing appliance such as a space heater into an electrical outlet at a time.

Source: National Fire Protection Association

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Chip in windshield: immediate assistance...helped arrange same day help since I was leaving on vacation! Amazing service.


Glenda S.

Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey