{"id":840647,"date":"2019-12-19T15:15:05","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T21:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ktbb.com\/post\/?p=840647"},"modified":"2019-12-20T15:15:02","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T21:15:02","slug":"fire-safety-tips-from-smith-county-fire-marshall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=840647","title":{"rendered":"Fire Safety Tips from Smith County Fire Marshall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"TYLER — The Smith County Fire Marshal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Office is reminding residents that typically there is a surge in house fires in winter and the holiday season. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Structure fire season has started,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fire Marshal Jay Brooks said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Once the weather turns colder, we see an increase in house fires, primarily because of the use of space heaters. Statistically speaking, in Smith County, the busiest month in terms of total structure fires is January, which accounts for nearly 12.5 percent of the year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fires.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

\"\"Half of the home heating fires occur in December, January and February. Heating equipment is involved in one in every seven reported home fires, and one in every five home fire deaths, according to FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration. <\/p>\n

Here are a few tips to avoid house fires during the winter months:<\/p>\n

Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from any heat sources, such as fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators or space heaters.
\nInstall and test carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month.
\nPlug 1 heat-producing appliance (eg. space heater) into an electrical outlet at a time.
\nHave a qualified professional clean and inspect your chimney and vents every year.
\nStore cooled ashes in a tightly covered metal container and keep it outside at least 10 feet away from your home or any nearby buildings.<\/p>\n

HOLIDAY FIRES
\nHoliday decorations can increase your risk for a home fire.
\nMore than half of the home fires in December are started by candles. The top three days for candle fires are Christmas Day, New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eve and New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day. Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns.
\nAlthough Christmas tree fires are not common, when they do occur, they are dangerous. On average, one of every 45 reported home Christmas tree fires resulted in death, according to FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration.
\nA heat source too close to the Christmas tree causes one in every four winter fires.
\nAs you deck the halls this season, be fire smart. Here are a few tips:
\nRead the manufacturer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s instructions for the number of light strands to connect.
\nMake sure your tree is at least 3 feet away from a heat source like fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, candles or heat vents. Also, make sure your tree does not block exits.
\nGet rid of your tree after Christmas or when it is dry.<\/p>\n

GENERATORS
\nPortable generators can also be hazardous when not used properly. Here are some tips for staying safe while using a generator:
\nUse portable generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas, away from all doors, windows and vents.
\nMake sure you have carbon monoxide alarms in your home.
\nDo not use a generator in a wet area, as it can cause shock or electrocution.
\nConnect appliances to the generator with heavy-duty extension cords.
\nDo not fuel your generator when it is running. Spilling gas on a hot engine can cause a fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TYLER — The Smith County Fire Marshal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Office is reminding residents that typically there is a surge in house fires in winter and the holiday season. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Structure fire season has started,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fire Marshal Jay Brooks said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Once the weather turns colder, we see an increase in house fires, primarily because of the use of space … Continue reading Fire Safety Tips from Smith County Fire Marshall<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":840650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-840647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-05 01:47:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=840647"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840651,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840647\/revisions\/840651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/840650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=840647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=840647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=840647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}