Fall fire safety tips

Here are some fall fire safety tips from the Minneapolis Fire Department to help protect your home and family from fire:

• Get your furnace inspected by a licensed professional to make sure it’s working safely and efficiently. Don’t use space heaters while sleeping or when they are left unattended.

• Create a family escape plan: Plan ahead in case you need to exit your home quickly in an emergency, and pick a safe meeting spot for family members outside your house. Make sure everyone knows where to meet, and practice the plan. Ideas for a safe meeting spot include a neighbor’s house, a big tree close by or a nearby fire hydrant.

• Have your chimney inspected and cleaned by a licensed professional if you use your fireplace regularly.

• Test your smoke alarms. People are encouraged to install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement. Smoke alarms need to be checked monthly, and the batteries must be changed twice a year. A great time to remember to change your battery is daylight saving time (change your clock, change your battery). Daylight saving time ends Nov. 1.

• Enjoy bonfires--or recreational fires--safely and legally by burning only untreated wood, keeping the fires small and locating them at least 25 feet from any structure.

• Don’t burn leaves or other yard waste.

• Test your carbon monoxide detectors, and make sure you have one within 10 feet of every bedroom.

Prevent kitchen fires

More fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home. That’s why the Minneapolis Fire Department wants to make sure you know how to prevent cooking fires.

Kitchen fire safety is explained in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong as part of the City’s “Did you know...” series of short videos on the City’s YouTube channel and cable channels 14 and 79. Residents who have friends or neighbors who speak these languages are encouraged to share links to the videos.

For more fire safety tips, follow the Fire Department on Twitter at @MinneapolisFire.