Cooking and home heating are the two leading causes of home fires, and both are about to get heavy use. For Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 4-10, the American Red Cross, Texas Gulf Coast Region, put out 20 steps to keep a fire from starting in your house and to get everyone out if one does.
“Across the country, the Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters a year and most of these are home fires. Here in the Texas Gulf Coast Region our disaster teams have responded to 1,412 fires since the beginning of FY26,” said Eddy Blanchard, Regional Disaster Officer, Texas Gulf Coast Region, American Red Cross. “These fires are devastating for the people involved. But there are steps everyone can take which will help not only help prevent a fire from starting but also help keep everyone safe should an emergency occur.”
Two minutes to get out
You may have less than two minutes to escape a burning house. The Red Cross wants an escape plan drawn up and practiced twice a year: two ways out of every room, a meeting spot a safe distance away — a neighbor’s house, a specific tree in the front yard — and one rule nobody breaks. Get out and stay out. Never go back in for people, pets or things. Time the drill. Once you’re out, dial 911.
Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a fire nearly in half. Put one on every level of the house, inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. Test them monthly and change the batteries once a year if the model needs it. Check the manufacturer’s date, too — anything 10 years or older needs replacing, because the sensor gets less sensitive with age. Teach children what the alarm sounds like and what to do when they hear it.
The stove and the space heater
Cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the country. Never leave food cooking unattended; if you have to leave the kitchen even briefly, turn the stove off. Use a timer. Skip loose clothing and dangling sleeves. Keep a three-foot kid-free zone around the stove, and keep pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper and plastic bags, food packaging, towels and curtains off the cooktop. Buy an extinguisher for the kitchen.
Heating equipment is second on the list, which matters as people start turning the heat back on. Never heat the house with a range or oven. Never leave a fireplace fire unattended, use a glass or metal screen to keep embers in, and make sure they’re out before bed. Space heaters need three feet of clear space all around, a level, hard, nonflammable surface — ceramic tile, not a rug, not near bedding or drapes — and a cord plugged straight into the wall, never an extension cord. Turn it off every time you leave the room or go to sleep, and keep children and pets away.
More is at redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org. The media contacts on the release are Vanessa Valdez, (713) 431-2391, and Brittney Rochell, (405) 245-9574.
