National Fire Prevention Week is October 8 -14. Help keep your family safe year round by implementing the following tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Please feel free to excerpt these tips or use them in their entirety for any print or broadcast story, with acknowledgment of source.

Keep Your Family Safe

• Never leave small children alone in the home, even for a minute.
• Place a barrier around open flames.
• Do not allow children to play near fireplaces, radiators, space heaters or kitchen stoves.
• Do not wear loose-fitting clothing near a stove, fireplace, or open space heater.
  

Fire Prevention

• Do not smoke in your home, especially in bed.
• Dispose of cigarette butts, matches, and ashes with care.
• Keep matches and lighters away from children.
• Be sure your gas water heater is off the ground. Spilled flammable liquids will be ignited by the pilot light.
• Have your heating system and fireplace checked and cleaned yearly. Fall is a great time to do this.
• Leave plenty of room around space heaters. They should be at least 3 feet from anything that might burn, like curtains and furniture. Turn space heaters off and unplug them when you go to bed or leave the home.
• Check electric appliances and cords regularly for wear or loose connections.
• Use only appropriate fuses for lighting circuits. Never use a substitute for a fuse.
  

Family Preparedness

• Install long-life smoke alarms with lithium-powered batteries on every level of your home, especially in furnace and sleeping areas.
• Test smoke alarms once a month. If long-life alarms are not available, change the batteries at least once a year.
• Plan several escape routes from the house. Plan a place to meet right after leaving the house.
• Conduct home fire drills with your family. Even preschool-aged children (3 and older) can begin to learn what to do in case of a fire.
• Place fire extinguishers around the home where the risk of fire is greatest - in the kitchen and furnace room, and near the fireplace.
  
  

In Case of a Fire

• Get everyone outside right away. Go to your planned meeting place.
• Do not stop to dress or put out the fire. (Most deaths occur from suffocation due to hot fumes and smoke, not from direct burning.)
• Call the fire department from a neighbors house.

(Adapted from AAP TIPP®-The Injury Prevention Program Safety Slip "Protect Your Home Against Fire…Planning Saves Lives" and "Keep Your Family Safe: Fire Safety and Burn Prevention at Home")

9/06 American Academy of Pediatrics

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