Prevent Bedroom Fires

Life-Saving Tips

•    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 a one-year lithium battery-powered smoke alarm, which is sealed so it cannot be tampered with or opened.  If you cannot afford a fire alarm, the Peru Fire Department will provide you with one free of charge.

•   Never smoke in bed.

•   Replace mattresses made prior to the 1973 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard.

•   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.  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 have an escape plan already worked out.  Get out, stay out.