It’s The Time of Year to do a Fire Safety Check Around Your House

It's National Fire Prevention Month. Assistant Fire Marshall Greg Adamitz from the St Cloud Fire Department came to the studio and talked to us about it. He told us one of the top causes of house fires is cooking fires. The St. Cloud area has had 50 cooking fires in the last six months alone.

Here are things he says everyone should know:

Cooking Fires

If you have a grease fire, use a cover, a fire extinguisher, or even baking soda. Never use water and never grab the pan and try to run outside, you risk splattering the burning grease and making it worse.

Fire Extinguisher

First of all, have one. Many people do not. In fact, have more than one. Place them at the exit points of the house and not somewhere that would have you running back into a fire or smoke-filled area.

Replace Those Batteries

Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors often and change the batteries at least once or twice a year. If you're unsure about your detectors, upgrade to a better one. This is not something that you go cheap on. Carbon monoxide calls happen more in the winter so make sure those detectors are good to go.

Dryer Lint

Changing your detector batteries is also a good time to clean dryer lint from the back of your dryer and your ducting as well. Greg said that most people don't even think of that. But it's a good idea to make sure no lint as built up and risk causing a fire from just drying your clothes.