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Smoking is the leading cause of deaths from home fires. But in the months of December, January, and February, smoking ties with heating equipment fires in number of deaths, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Cooking fires cause the most home fires and home fire injuries.

Mattresses and bedding are the most common materials to burn first in a fire started by a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Those materials are followed by trash and upholstered furniture, according to the NFPA. If you smoke at home, take these steps to prevent fires:

• Smoke outside.
• Keep your smoking materials away from anything that can burn.
• Don't smoke in bed.
• Use large, deep ashtrays so ashes are less likely to spill onto furniture.
• Make sure cigarette butts and used matches are doused with water before putting them in the trash.
• Whenever someone has been smoking in your home, check around upholstered furniture and cushions, and in the trash, for cigarette butts that might be smoldering.

That's more than in any other place in the home, according to the NFPA. Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires and of home fire injuries. The main cause of cooking fires is leaving cooking unattended. To help prevent cooking fires, follow these tips from the NFPA:

• Never leave cooking unattended on the stovetop.
• Check frequently on cooking in the oven.
• Keep areas around the stove and oven clear of grease, potholders, towels, drapes, and food packages.
• Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove so they can't be accidentally bumped or grabbed by children.
• Never use a wet oven mitt because the moisture can scald you if it becomes heated.

If a small grease fire starts in a pan, put on an oven mitt and slide a lid onto the pan to smother the flames. Turn off the burner, and leave the pan alone until it is completely cool. Never use water on a grease fire, because that can spray burning grease elsewhere in the kitchen.

Other fire prevention tips from the NFPA: Always clean the lint filter on your dryer before or after using it; remove accumulated lint from around the drum; make sure the dryer is plugged into the correct kind of electrical outlet; keep the area around the dryer clear of boxes, clothing, and other combustible material; have your gas-powered dryer inspected regularly by a service professional.

The NFPA says that Christmas Day is the peak day for candle fires. More than half of candle fires occur when a candle is left burning unattended near a combustible material. To help prevent fires caused by candles, follow these tips from the NFPA:

• Put out all candles when leaving a room or going to sleep.
• Keep candles 12 inches away from anything that can catch fire.
• Use candle holders that won't tip over easily, won't catch fire, and are large enough to catch dripping wax.
• Don't put candles in windows.
• Don't use candles in places where they might get knocked over.
• Trim candle wicks to a quarter inch and extinguish a taper or pillar candle that is within 2 inches of the holder. Votives and candles in containers should be extinguished when there is only a half-inch of wax left to melt.

If you use candles during a power outage, don't carry a lighted candle. Never use a lighted candle to check on pilot lights or when adding fuel to a heater or lantern.

The NFPA advises that everyone draw up an escape plan and practice it at least twice a year, so that everyone in the household knows what to do. Every room should have at least 2 escape routes, either through doors or windows. If you live in an apartment building, make sure you know the building's evacuation plan. If you have young children, practice the escape plan during the day before you do a fire drill at night when they're sleeping. When a smoke alarm goes off at night, the first step is to get everyone out of the house, then call for help. Agree on a meeting place outside the home after everyone has escaped. Don't go back into your home until the fire department tells you it is safe to do so. If you need help in drawing up a fire escape plan, the NFPA has a grid that can be downloaded.

Almost half of fires caused by children start in a bedroom, according to the NFPA. Most fires caused by children involve matches or lighters. But children also start fires by playing with candles, stoves, fireworks, and cigarettes. Most people who are killed in fires started by children are younger than 5. To help prevent fires started by children, you should keep matches and lighters out of children's reach and sight. You shouldn't amuse children by lighting matches or lighters, because they may try to imitate you. You should make it clear that matches and lighters are for adults only, and that if a child sees matches or lighters, they should tell an adult.

Although about 95 out of 100 homes now have smoke alarms, not all of those alarms are operating. In just over 1/3 of fires that occurred in homes, smoke alarms were not present or did not work, says the NFPA. You should test your alarms at least once a month by using the test button and keep the alarms clean. Replace the batteries once a year, or when the unit begins to chirp to tell you that the battery is low. The NFPA advises changing the batteries when you change your clocks each fall, from daylight saving time to standard time. You can eliminate the need for yearly batteries by installing hard-wired smoke alarms, which run off your electrical circuit. Another option is a smoke alarm with a 10-year battery.

The NFPA says that older smoke alarms don't work as well as new alarms. Unless you know that the smoke alarms are new, you should replace them when you move into a new home. If someone in your home has a hearing impairment, you should install smoke alarms with strobe lights, the NFPA says.

The NFPA advises using an extinguisher when a fire is small and not growing, and everyone else is out of the house and the fire department has been called. The first priority in a fire is to get everyone out of the house safely. That's because fires can grow and spread quickly. An extinguisher should be installed near a room's exit door, so that you can use it to make an escape if the fire can't be controlled. When using an extinguisher, point it at the base of the fire and sweep the nozzle from side to side. A good extinguisher for the home is a multipurpose model that can be used on all types of home fires.

Check to see if your fire extinguisher can be used more than once. Not all brands are made to do so. Also check the “use-by” date to make sure the extinguisher is still current.