Entertaining and celebrating with family and friends is what the holiday season is all about. 

This year, take some time to learn about potential fire hazards related to cooking, candles, decorations, electrical cords, and heating devices.

Keep your holiday parties safe with these U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) tips:

• Test your smoke alarms and tell your guests about your home fire escape plan.
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.
• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet.
• Stay in the kitchen when cooking at high temperatures like frying, grilling or broiling.
• Ask people who smoke to smoke outside. Remind smokers to keep their smoking materials with them, so young children do not touch them.
• Keep doorways and exit paths clear of furniture and decorations.

Find more holiday and fire safety information on the USFA Holiday Safety page.

With several active wildfires affecting the Western United States, it is important to know how to stay safe with information and resources from Prepareathon™.

Wildfires can happen anywhere in the country and at any time of year. If you see a wildfire approaching, call 911 to report the fire. Do not assume that someone else reported it and follow these tips from Prepareathon’s How to Prepare for a Wildfire Guide:

• Stay informed with local alerts and warnings, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Wireless Emergency Alerts, or a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio.
• Remove flammable items, such as firewood piles and portable propane tanks, within 30 feet of all structures. Remove dry or dead vegetation from up to 100 feet around your home.
• Learn and practice evacuation routes from your home or business to a safe area. Add these routes to your family emergency communication plan. The best action to protect yourself and your family is to evacuate early. 

If ordered to evacuate:

• Leave immediately.
• Help firefighters, if there is time before you leave. Some of the things to help include closing up the house and leaving lights on for visibility, as well as moving flammable materials to the center of the home, away from windows. You can also leave hoses connected to a water source, so they are available for the fire department.
• Text SHELTER and your ZIP code (e.g., SHELTER 20472) to 43362 (4FEMA) to find the nearest shelter in your area. Follow local media for more information on shelters.

If trapped in your home:

• Call 9-1-1 and provide your location, if possible. Please be aware that during a major event such as a wildfire, emergency services may be overwhelmed, and a response may be delayed or impossible.
• Turn on the lights to increase the visibility of your home in heavy smoke.
• Keep doors, windows, vents, and fire screens closed.
• Keep your doors unlocked.
• Move flammable materials (e.g., curtains, furniture) away from windows and sliding glass doors.
• Fill sinks and tubs with water to assist in dousing small smoldering fires, which may pop up.
• Stay inside, away from outside walls and windows.

For more information on wildfire safety, review Prepareathon’s How to Prepare for a Wildfire guide, or watch the When the Fire Starts video. You can also read about California’s use of FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alerts during the recent wildfires.  

Carbon monoxide (CO) is the “invisible killer” because it is a colorless, odorless, and poisonous gas.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), more than 150 people in the United States die every year from accidental nonfire-related CO poisoning from household products, like generators. Other products include faulty, improperly-used or incorrectly-vented, fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, stoves, water heaters, and fireplaces.

Breathe easy this winter and avoid CO poisoning with these USFA tips:

• Install and maintain CO alarms in a central location outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of your home to provide an early warning of CO.
• Use portable generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas away from all doors, windows, and vents.
• Make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow and other debris.

Learn the symptoms of CO poisoning and other CO safety information on the USFA Carbon Monoxide Safety page.

Strengthen your wildfire preparedness by participating in next year’s Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 5, 2018.  

This opportunity encourages communities to work together to address their wildfire risk.

Develop a plan now to collaborate with agency partners and identify the risks to your community. The National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise USA site has resources you can use to understand what your risks are in the home ignition zone.

Create your plan and get ready to apply next year from January 8 through March 2, 2018, for one of 150 funding awards. Participate on this day to be a part of helping to create safer, more resilient communities across the Nation.