Fire safety tips for Fire Safety Prevention Month

CICERO, N.Y. (WSYR) — With temperatures dropping during the third week of October for Central New York, many are deciding whether to turn up the heat for the first time since springtime.

However, it is important to warm up safely during Fire Safety Prevention Month.

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“The cold can come as quick as it did so you don’t have a lot of time sometimes…and it is better to be warm than it is to be cold,” Mike Block, a member of the Board of Directors with the Onondaga County Volunteer Firefighters Association, said. “If you don’t take care of stuff before, it’ll catch up with you later.”

Block said it is important for people to know what to do if sparks fly at home. He added when people are in the living room, they need to be on the lookout.

“When people start up their space heaters…they want to keep them close to the wall, they want to keep them next to the furniture so it’s not in the middle of the décor,” he said. “But that’s not a good place for them. You have to keep at least three feet around it because the heat needs to radiate out.”

In the kitchen, he said cooking is the leading cause of house fires. He said people need to pay attention to who is in the kitchen, the temperature of running water and hot surfaces.

“But most importantly, if you start something in your kitchen, stay with it in your kitchen,” Block said.

If a fire has already started in the home and there is no other choice but to leave, Block said remember to look for rising smoke, stop, drop, open doors slowly, and crawl to the nearest window to exit.

“The value of human life is immeasurable,” he said. “We’re here to save and prevent so that you don’t have to worry…so you don’t have to think about it later on.”

Click HERE for dates and locations of the public education trailer for fire prevention simulations and safety training.

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