There are more home fires in the winter than any other season. Several reasons for this include unattended cooking stove, live Christmas trees not being watered adequately, old artificial trees with outdated and possible faulty lights and wiring, unattended fire places or candles, and space heaters to close to flammable material just to name a few.

Per the U.S. Fire Administration and their data between 2003 and 2013 (PDF) cooking was one of the leading causes of residential home fires followed by fires due to heating.

There are simple things that can be done to prevent some of the common home fires:

1. One thing every home should have is a working smoke detector. Depending on your town ordinance it can be just a simple operated smoke detector or maybe it needs to be hard wired. Regardless if the smoke detector is hard wired or battery operated, check it often to make sure it works. When the battery needs replacing, replace it and don’t just remove the battery and forget about it.
2. Not everybody thinks of having a fire extinguisher in their home, but consider buying one and installing it in an easy to get to place outside of but close to the kitchen. Many times a fires starts in the kitchen and having a fire extinguisher under the kitchen sink might not be the best place in an emergency.

Cooking

• When cooking, grilling, or frying stay in the kitchen and don’t leave your food unattended.
• Be aware of what type of clothes you are wearing. A sleeve that is to loose could possibly be an issue.
• When you have small kids, consider keeping them away from the stove. A stove where the knobs are above the burners might be the best stove for you until the kids are larger.
• When you are grilling outside keep the grill away from the house. It is recommended at least 10 feet from the house. Do not use the grill under a porch, or low hanging tree limbs.

Space Heaters

• Make certain you keep anything flammable like clothes, couches, toys, or other flammable items at least three feet away from the portable heater.
• When you are buying a portable space heater be sure it complies with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) ratings and it comes with an automatic thermostat cut off switch when the heater tips over.

Smoking

• When you smoke, do not smoke in bed or when you are sleepy, have been drinking, or taking medication that makes you sleepy. Extinguish the cigarette first.
• When you smoke, consider smoking outside and keep a sand filled metal can in the area for you to extinguish the cigarette.
• When you smoke inside keep the ashtrays on a sturdy surface like coffee table. Do not put them next to you on the couch.
• When oxygen is in use, do not smoke in this house. Oxygen can feed a fire even more and make it burn hotter and faster.

Woodstove and Fireplaces

• When using a fireplace have a screen in front of it that is large enough to cover the entire opening and heavy enough to catch possible rolling logs and flying sparks.