Fire prevention

Install smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement.

Test them once a month with the test button. Replace batteries at least once a year (unless the alarm has a sealed 10-year battery), and replace the whole alarm when it is 10 years old.

Interconnected alarms are best: when one sounds, they all sound.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas you cannot see or smell. Put CO alarms outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home.

Test them monthly and replace them as the maker says (often every 5 to 7 years).

If a CO alarm sounds, get everyone outside to fresh air right away and call 911 from outside. Never run a generator, grill or car engine inside the home or garage.

Draw a map of your home with two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window. Make sure windows and doors open easily.

Pick a meeting spot outside, in front of the home, such as a tree or a mailbox.

Practice your escape plan with everyone in the home at least twice a year, at night and during the day. Teach children how to get out on their own.

Get out and stay out. Never go back inside for people, pets or things.

If there is smoke, get low and go under it to your way out. Feel a door with the back of your hand before opening it; if it is hot, use your second way out.

Once you are outside, call 911.

If your clothes catch fire: stop, drop and roll.

Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from space heaters, furnaces and stoves.

Turn off space heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep, and plug them straight into the wall, not into an extension cord.

Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year.

Stay in the kitchen while you fry, grill or broil. Keep things that can burn, like towels and oven mitts, away from the stove.

Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove and keep children at least 3 feet away.

For a small grease fire, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Never use water on a grease fire.

Do not overload outlets or power strips. Replace cords that are cracked, frayed or damaged, and never run cords under rugs.

Call an electrician if lights flicker, outlets feel warm, or breakers trip often.

Clean the dryer lint filter before or after every load, and do not leave the dryer running when nobody is home.

Charge phones, e-bikes and scooters on a hard surface, away from exits and things that burn. Use the charger that came with the device, and unplug it when it is full.

Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to use it. Remember PASS: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side.

Only fight a small fire, and only if everyone is out and you have a clear way out. If in doubt, get out and call 911.