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Parenting Advice from Our Pediatric Experts

Tips and advice to support you through every age and stage of parenting.

How to Keep Your Home Safe from Fires

12/18/2024 6 min. read

A mother, father, son and daughter gather around their coffee table while discussing a emergency plan on a map of their house. Emergency items like canned food and a first aid kit sit on the table in front of them.

Home fires are a common emergency in the United States, and children are at the greatest risk for injury and fatality. Increasing threats from wildfires also pose risks to life and property, especially in drier states like Colorado. However, many residential fires are preventable. These expert tips and resources can help you avoid fires at home — and keep your family safe if a fire does occur. 

Common fire hazards at home

Stay fire safe by testing your smoke alarms each month. Make sure you have them installed correctly and that you have them in the right locations. Fire alarms should be located on every level of the house, including the basement, and outside every sleeping area. Avoid placing them near windows, doors, cooking areas and furnaces, which could reduce their effectiveness or cause false alarms. Use daylight saving time as a reminder to change the batteries twice a year. This is also a great time to check your carbon monoxide detectors and make sure that your family is safe from carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Cooking fire safety

Kids should understand the many fire risks that exist around the home, especially those involving everyday activities. For example, cooking is a leading cause of house fires, so families should talk about stove safety, oven safety and microwave safety, especially as children get old enough to help in the kitchen. For example, discuss not leaving hot surfaces unattended and how to stay safe around open flames if you have a gas stove or are using a grill.

Preventing fires around oxygen

Children’s Colorado pediatrician Kaitlin Whelan, MD, explains that Colorado’s high-altitude areas mean that some people need extra oxygen to breathe or heal, and this too can create a hazard. “In Colorado, we have more patients on oxygen than other parts of the country, and families need to be especially cognizant of the flammability of oxygen,” Dr. Whelan says.

If someone in your family is on oxygen, keep them and their oxygen far from open fires and flames. 

Electrical safety

Electrical fires pose another risk to households. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers helpful tips on following electrical safety in your home, such as unplugging small appliances when they are not in use, not overloading electrical outlets, installing outlet safety plates and replacing power cords if they are worn.  Full clothes dryer vents and lint filters can also increase the risk of a house fire, so be sure to clean these out after every load. 

Additionally, space heaters can lead to fires in the colder months, so it helps to create a family rule that these always get unplugged when they aren’t in use.

Fireplace safety

If you have a wood-burning fireplace, make sure your kids know how to interact with it safely. A good rule of thumb is that, after putting out a fire, you should wait for the space around the fireplace to cool down before heading out of the house. You’ll also want to be sure the flue or damper is open before starting the fire. “We do not want smoke filling your house. If you miss that step, you can have problems with smoke inhalation because the smoke cannot get outside,” Dr. Whelan says.   

For gas fireplaces with a glass cover, know that it takes an average of 45 minutes for glass to cool to a safe temperature after a burning fire has been extinguished. That’s why it’s so important to never leave your child alone in the room with the fireplace, or for about an hour after it’s been turned off.  

Remember these safety tips when dealing with a glass fireplace: 

  • "G" for gate: Place a gate or screen around the gas fireplace’s glass doors to create a barrier between your child and the fire. 
  • "L" for look: Look where your child is while the gas fireplace is on. 
  • "A" for aware: Be aware that the glass of a gas fireplace door can heat up to more than 200°F in approximately six minutes. 
  • "S" for switch: Make sure the on/off switch is not in reach of your child. 
  • "S" for shut off: Remember to shut off the fuel source when you leave the room or the house. 

Another way to keep your home safe with a gas fireplace is to ensure the damper is always open, which helps air flow and prevents propane buildup in the room. Installing a carbon monoxide detector near your gas fireplace also prevents excess carbon monoxide. 

No matter what type of fireplace you have, make sure kids understand how to keep a safe distance from the fire. “The rule of keeping anything flammable, and people, three feet from a fire — whether in a fireplace, a campfire or a heating system — will help keep children and families safe,” Dr. Whelan says. 

Candle safety

Candles are another common cause of home fires in the U.S., especially around holidays. To reduce this risk, use a battery-operated, flameless candle, which doesn’t pose a fire hazard. Consider getting a candle warmer, which provides the scent of your favorite candles without the open flame. If you are using real candles, they should have at least 12 inches of clearance from flammables and should only be lit when monitored. You can also set a one-hour alarm on your phone or another appliance to remind you to blow the candle out. 

Learn other home safety tips for families

Preparing a home fire escape plan

The proper safety steps can greatly reduce the risk of a fire in your home. However, sometimes a fire can happen for reasons beyond your control. To prepare for such an event and prevent burns and injuries, you’ll want to create a fire plan that your whole family understands and can follow in case of a fire emergency.

Start by drawing a map of your home and labeling all doors and windows. Show two ways to escape every room. Choose a meeting place outside of your home where the family can gather in case of a fire. Practice this plan with the family annually to keep it fresh in your children’s minds

Prepare your home and family for wildfires

Although emergencies usually happen when we least expect them, there are steps you can take to be prepared and make sure they are well managed. Have a family discussion about how to prepare for and respond to an emergency.

Start by creating a disaster kit that includes basics such as:

  • Water
  • Nonperishable food
  • Extra prescriptions
  • A first-aid kit
  • Blankets
  • A  flashlight
  • A portable phone charger
  • A battery-powered or hand-crank radio that can receive NOAA Weather Radio tone alerts and extra batteries

Look at an evacuation checklist to help you remember all the essentials. Keeping your car maintained, if you have one, can also help you evacuate quickly if needed.

Next, create a plan that includes contact lists and meeting places in case your family is separated (FEMA has a helpful guide to creating a wildfire safety plan). Sesame Street offers great tools for preparing younger children for these situations, and kids as young as age 3 can start practicing a fire plan. Additionally, since kids will need reassurance during and after an emergency or natural disaster, learn how to have these sensitive conversations.

Wildfire safety for families

Wildfires can have health consequences for many children even if their immediate community is not in danger. “A majority of fire related deaths come from smoke inhalation and not the fire itself,” Dr. Whelan says.

That’s why, when a fire has started close to you, it’s important to grab young children and evacuate the area as soon as possible — which is more important than getting dressed, packing or putting together an emergency kit. You can also sign up for your county's emergency alert notifications to make sure you’re always ready to act if the need arises.