More than 4,000 Americans die each year in fires and more than 25,000 are injured. Many of them might be alive today if they had only had the information they needed to avoid a disaster. The following life-saving tips could make a big difference to your audience. By incorporating them in your story now, while the moment is still fresh, you could help save a life.

Did you know?

• Eighty percent of all fire deaths occur in the home.

• Heating is the second leading cause of residential fires and ties with arson as the second leading cause of fire deaths.

• Deaths due to heating a home improperly are particularly avoidable.

• Having a working smoke alarm more than doubles one's chances of surviving a fire.

Following these simple fire safety tips can boost survival rates dramatically. Please share them with your readers because knowledge is the best fire protection.

Alternative Heating Fire Safety Life-Saving Tips:

• Allow your heater to cool before refueling and only refuel outdoors.
• Fill your heater with only crystal clear, K-1 kerosene, not gasoline or camp stove fuel both explode easily.
• Keep the fire in the fireplace by making sure you have a screen large enough to catch flying sparks and rolling logs.
• Clean your chimney regularly chimney tar build-up can ignite your chimney, roof and the whole house.
• Space heaters need space. Keep combustibles at least three feet away from each heater.
• When buying a space heater, look for a control feature that automatically shuts off the power if the heater falls over.
• Carefully follow manufacturers' installation and maintenance instructions.
• For wood stove fuel use only seasoned wood, not green wood, artificial logs or trash.
• In case of a fire, stay low to the ground, beneath the smoke, and have an escape plan already worked out.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.

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Appliance Safety Life-saving Tips:

• Regularly inspect your extension cords for fraying and never use an extension cord as permanent wiring.
• Instead of a simple extension cord, get a UL-approved unit with built-in circuit breakers.
• Routinely check your wiring. Look for outlets that don't work, light switches that are hot to the touch and lights that flicker.
• Never overload outlets or extension cords.
• Immediately repair appliances or lamps that sputter or spark.
• Keep appliances away from wet areas in the kitchen, bathroom, basement and garage.
• If an appliance has a three-prong plug, never force it into a two-slot outlet or extension cord.
• Don't let children play near electrical space heaters. Keep clothes, curtains and other flammable items at least three feet away from heaters.
• In case of a fire, stay low to the ground, beneath the smoke, and have an escape plan already worked out.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.

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Careless Smoking Life-saving Tips:

• Never smoke in bed. Replace mattresses made prior to the 1973 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard.
• Don't put ashtrays on the arms of sofas or chairs.
• Use large ashtrays with wide lips. While smaller ashtrays may be more attractive, they are not safe. Cigarettes can roll off the edge, and ashes can easily be blown away.
• Empty ashtrays into the toilet or an airtight metal container. Warm ashes dumped in waste cans can smolder for hours, then ignite.
• Don't leave cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended.
• Put out all smoking materials before you walk away.
• If you begin to feel drowsy while watching television or reading, extinguish your cigarette or cigar.
• Close a matchbook before striking and hold it away from your body. Set your cigarette lighter on "low" flame to prevent burns.
• If friends or relatives who smoke have visited, be sure to check on the floor and around chair cushions for ashes that may have been dropped accidentally.
• In case of a fire, stay low to the ground, beneath the smoke, and have an escape plan already worked out.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.

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Children & Fire Life-Saving Tips:

• Keep matches, lighters and other ignitables in a secured drawer or cabinet out of the reach of children.
• Have your children tell you when they find matches and lighters.
• Always dress children in pajamas that meet federal flammability standards. Avoid dressing children for sleep in loose-fitting 100 percent cotton garments, such as oversized T-shirts.
• Teach children not to hide from firefighters, but to get out quickly and call for help from another location.
• Show children how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke, to get out of the house and stay out.
• Teach children a signal to alert the rest of the family to get out if they hear a smoke alarm.
• Demonstrate how to stop, drop to the ground, and roll if clothes catch fire.
• Develop a home fire escape plan and designate a meeting place outside.
• Familiarize children with the sound of your smoke alarm.
• Help your child test every smoke alarm each month and replace its batteries at least once a year.
• Replace mattresses made prior to the 1973 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard.
• Check under beds and in closets for burnt matches, evidence your child may be playing with fire.

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Cooking Fires Life-Saving Tips:

• Never leave cooking unattended. A serious fire can start in just seconds.
• Always wear short, tight-fitting sleeves when cooking.
• Turn pot handles inward to avoid spills. Always use a potholder when reaching for handles.
• Keep towels, pot holders and curtains away from flames and hot surfaces.
• Clean cooking surfaces regularly to prevent grease buildup which can ignite.
• If a fire breaks out while cooking, put a lid on the pan to smother it. You may also use baking soda. Never throw water on a grease fire.
• Heat oil gradually to avoid burns from spattering grease. Use extra caution when preparing deep-fried foods.
• Place a rubber mat on the floor in front of your stove to give you added traction in case liquids or grease spill.
• Never use the range or oven to heat your home. In addition to being a fire hazard, toxic fumes may leak into your home.
• Double-check the kitchen before you go to bed or leave the house. Make sure all other appliances are turned off.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Test the batteries every month, and change them once a year.

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Escape Planning Life-Saving Tips:

• Make sure everyone in your family knows two routes to escape from bedrooms.
• Buy a collapsible ladder for escape from upper story windows.
• Keep the fire department's number by the phone.
• Have a flashlight by your bed, to help you see and a whistle to alert your family.
• Practice feeling your way out of the house with your eyes closed.
• Never open doors that are hot to the touch.
• Teach your family to stop, drop to the ground and roll if their clothes catch fire.
• Designate a meeting place outside and take attendance.
• Remember to escape first, then notify the fire department.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.

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Preventing Arson In Your Community Life-Saving Tips:

• Arson is a serious crime. It injures and kills people, destroys property and destabilizes neighborhoods. Ask law enforcement and fire authorities to identify buildings at risk for arson.
• Monitor run-down and vacant buildings.
• Report suspicious activity.
• Keep boxes, trash, wood and other combustibles away from buildings.
• In the case of arson, every second counts. Make sure everyone in your family knows two ways to escape from the home. Escape first, then notify the fire department using the 911 system or the local emergency number in your area.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home and test the batteries every month.
• Never open doors that are hot to the touch.
• Practice feeling your way out of your home with your eyes closed.

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Preventing Bedroom Fires Life-Saving Tips:

• Never smoke in bed.
• Replace all mattresses made before the 1973 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard. Mattresses made since then are required by law to be safer.
• Keep lighters, matches and other ignitables in a secured drawer or cabinet out of reach of children. Children are one of the highest risk groups for death in residential fires.
• Keep lit candles away from bedding, curtains, papers and anything else that can ignite easily.
• Do not run electrical cords under your bed or trap them against a wall where heat can build up. And avoid overloading extension cords.
• Take extra care when using portable heaters. Keep bedding, clothes, curtains and other flammable items at least three feet away from space heaters.
• Only use lab-approved electric blankets and warmers. Check to make sure the cords are not frayed.
• Make sure everyone in your family knows at least two escape routes from their bedrooms, and practice these often.
• In case of a fire, stay low to the ground, beneath the smoke, and use the escape plan you have worked out. Get out and stay out.
• Install at least one working smoke alarm on each level of your home and in halls outside bedrooms. Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.

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Rural Fire Safety Life-Saving Tips:

• Use fire-resistant and protective roofing and materials like stone, brick and metal to protect your home. Avoid using wood materials that offer the least fire protection.
• Let your landscape defend your property. Create defensible space by thinning trees and brush within 30 feet around your home.
• Landscape your property with fire resistant plants and vegetation to prevent fire from spreading quickly.
• Stack firewood at least 30 feet away from your home and other structures.
• Store flammable materials, liquids and solvents in metal containers outside the home, at least 30 feet away from structures and wooden fences.
• Burning yard waste is a fire hazard. Check with your local fire department on a non-emergency number for fire permit requirements and restricted burning times.
• Have your chimney inspected and cleaned regularly by a certified specialist.
• Provide emergency vehicle access with properly constructed driveways and roadways, at least 12 feet wide with adequate turnaround space.
• Post home address signs that are clearly visible from the road.
• Develop and practice fire escape and evacuation plans with your family.
• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home.
• Test smoke alarm batteries every month and change them at least once a year. Consider installing the new long- life smoke alarms.