This is Fire Prevention Week and the state Fire Marshal’s office is asking you to take some time to make your home safer from fires. Department of Public Safety spokesperson Jessica Lown says there are some trouble spots. She says fires often happen in kitchen areas, and you should brush up on fire safety tips, such as never leave pots and pans and ovens and stoves unattended when you’re cooking.
Lown says there’s another area where Iowans need to take notice. Lown says in Iowa the last couple of years, smoking deaths have been related to improper discarding of cigarettes, which she says is contrary to the national trend. Lown says the national trend has been deaths related to kitchen fires. Lown suggests you take action to prevent a fire from cigarettes.
Lown says if you have a smoker in the house, you might want to take a closer look at the smoking rules. She says you may even want to consider a rule requiring smokers to go outside to smoke. Lown says most fatal fires happen between the hours of 11 P.M. and seven A.M., so you should be sure you have working smoke detectors in your home.