According to the National Fire Protection Association, a home fire is reported to a fire department in the United States every 1-1/2 minutes, and someone dies in a home fire every 2-1/2 hours. The American Red Cross responds to more than 68,000 disasters each year, the majority of which are single-family fires.

The Red Cross recommends taking the following preventive measures to help minimize the chance and effects of fire:

• Be careful with candles - Keep candles away from combustible materials. Don't leave children unattended in a room with lit candles. Keep candles, matches and lighters out of the reach of children. Never display lighted candles in windows or near exits.
• Inspect fireplaces and wood stoves - Have your chimney connections and flues inspected by a professional and cleaned if necessary prior to the start of every heating season. Use a sturdy screen when burning fires. Burn only wood-never burn paper, including discarded gift wrap, or pine boughs. Do not hang holiday decorations from or on your fireplace if you plan to use it as a heat source.
• Check smoke detectors - Make sure detectors are working properly and that new batteries are installed.
• Be aware of overuse of electrical outlets - Don't overload your electrical outlets. Be careful of extension cords that present hazardous walkways.
• Have one or more working fire extinguishers in your home - Get training from the fire department in how to use them.
• Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your home. Statistics from the National Fire Protection Association show that automated fire sprinkler systems typically reduce chances of dying in a fire and reduce the average property loss by one-half to two-thirds where they are used.

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**Taken from www.redcross.org