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2. The major CAUSES of home fires are:

• Smoking 26%
• Incendiary or Suspicious 16%
• Heating 14%
• Child Playing 10%
• Electrical Distribution 10%
• Cooking 8%
• All other causes 16% (source- National Fire Protection Association)

3. The LEADING CAUSE of death in a fire is asphyxiation. Fire consumes the oxygen in the air and increases the amount of deadly carbon monoxide, which causes a loss of consciousness or death within minutes. Fire victims rarely SEE the flames. 4. At floor level, temperatures average about 90 degrees F, but at eye level rise to 600 DEGREES.

5. ENOUGH SCARE! How do you PROTECT against fire? Because fires quickly generate into a black choking smoke, which is impossible to see through, fire drills and preparation are essential to survival.

6. Make sure all family members have a planned escape route that they can travel with their EYES CLOSED! Practice staying low to the ground when escaping.

7. If traveling, or even for home use, consider the purchase of a smoke protection HOOD.

8. FEEL all DOORS before opening them and if the door is hot try to get out another way.

9. Open a window to escape or for fresh air while awaiting rescue. Even more preferable, if possible, open slightly the top AND bottom portions because smoke tends to draw out of the top, while fresh air comes through the bottom.

10. If you can’t get out, fill a bathtub with water as quickly as possible, because you can lose water pressure quickly. Put damp clothes along the bottom of the door.

11. Teach everyone to STOP, DROP and ROLL if clothes catch fire.

12. Purchase collapsible LADDERS and practice using them

13. You might initially think that the following is nothing new, but we are purposely crossing the border here: Nearly half the residential fires and three fifths of the residential fatalities occur in homes with NO WORKING SMOKE DETECTORS!! REPLACE batteries at least once a year and test the detector even more often. Suggestion: Replace detector on October 10 (Fire Prevention Day).

14. Purchase smoke detectors labeled by the Underwriters Laboratories(UL) or Factory Mutual(FM).

15. Both ionization and photoelectric detectors work, but differently. Ionization models respond slightly faster to open flaming fires while photoelectric models respond faster to smoldering fires. Ideally, a home should be protected by at least one of each. (SOURCE- UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION)