Fire Safety
Seasonal reminders for homes in McKean.
Winter Fire Safety
Dec - Feb
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Keep Your Address Findable
Snow banks hide house numbers and narrow a driveway. Keep your number readable from both directions and leave room for fire apparatus and an ambulance to get in.
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Clear the Vents
Drifted snow over a dryer, furnace or fireplace vent pushes the exhaust back into the house. Check them after every storm.
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Wood Stove Ashes
Ashes hold heat for days. Put them in a metal can with a lid and keep the can outside, away from the house, the deck and the woodpile.
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Space Heaters
Give a space heater three feet of clear space on every side, plug it straight into a wall outlet, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed.
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Generators
Run a generator outside, at least 20 feet from any window or door, and never in a garage. Keep a carbon monoxide alarm on every level of the house.
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Power Outages
Use flashlights, not candles. If you do burn one, put it in a sturdy holder well clear of anything else and put it out before you sleep.
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Holiday Decorations
Water a real tree every day, throw out light strings with frayed wires, and turn the lights off before bed. Blow out candles when you leave the room.
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Frozen Pipes
In a hard freeze, let the faucets drip and open the cabinet doors so warm air reaches the pipes. Find your main water shut-off now, before a pipe bursts.
Spring Fire Safety
Mar - May
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Brush Fire Season
March through May is one of Pennsylvania's two wildfire seasons. Last year's dead grass carries fire fast, before anything greens up.
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The First Five Feet
Keep the ground against your walls clear of mulch, firewood and dead plants. That's where a blown ember lands and a house fire starts.
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Check the Grill First
Look over the propane hose for cracks and test the connections with soapy water before you light it for the season.
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Clean the Gutters
Last fall's leaves, sitting in a gutter or a roof valley, are exactly the fuel a wind-blown ember is looking for.
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Outdoor Burning
Check with the township or the borough before you burn anything outside. Keep the fire small, stay with it, and keep water close enough to reach it.
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Test Your Smoke Alarms
Press the test button on every smoke alarm in the house, and replace any alarm more than 10 years old. The manufacture date is on the back.
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Spring Cleaning
Don't mix cleaning products, keep anything flammable away from heat, and clean the winter's lint out of the dryer vent.
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Storm Season
Keep a kit with at least three days of water and food, flashlights, batteries, a radio and medications, and pick the safest room in the house for a tornado warning.
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Summer Fire Safety
Jun - Aug
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Fire Pits
Ten feet from the house and from anything else that burns. Put a screen over it, put it out before you go inside, and let the ashes go cold in a metal can.
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Mowers and Fuel
Let the engine cool before you refuel. Store gasoline outside the house, in a container made for it, away from anything that sparks.
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Window Air Conditioners
Plug it straight into a wall outlet. An air conditioner on a power strip or a light duty cord draws more than the cord can carry.
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Grilling
Set the grill well away from the house and the deck railings, and out from under the eaves. Clean the grease tray, and stay with the grill while it is lit.
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Outdoor Extension Cords
Use a cord rated for outdoor use. Never run one under a rug or through a doorway that pinches it shut.
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Fireworks
A professional display is the safest way to see fireworks. If you set off your own, keep them 150 feet from any building or car, keep water ready, and never relight a dud.
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Lightning
When you hear thunder, go inside, and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before you go back out.
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Campfires
Keep a campfire small and inside a fire ring, and put it out with water before you leave: drown it, stir it, and feel for heat.
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Fall Fire Safety
Sep - Nov
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Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Test them before the furnace runs for the first time. Put one on every level and outside the bedrooms, and replace each unit on the schedule printed on the back.
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Space Heaters Out of Storage
Check the cord and plug for damage and look the model up for recalls before you plug it in. Keep three feet clear on every side, not just the front.
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Get the Generator Ready
Decide in daylight where it will run: outside, twenty feet from any window or door, with the exhaust pointed away from the house.
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Leaves Against the House
Rake leaf litter back from the walls, out from under the deck and away from the fire pit before it packs down for the winter.
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The Furnace
Before the heating season, hire a technician to inspect the furnace, and change the filter on the schedule its manufacturer gives.
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The Chimney
Before your first fire of the season, hire a chimney sweep to inspect the flue. Creosote builds up on the flue walls, and enough of it plus a hot fire makes a chimney fire.
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Leaf Burning
Check with the township or the borough before you burn leaves. Don't burn on a windy day, keep a hose at hand, and stay with the pile until it's out.
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Halloween
Light jack-o-lanterns with battery candles, keep costumes away from open flames, and put something reflective on kids who are out after dark.
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Longer answers
Fire Safety & Prevention
Smoke alarms, CO detectors, kitchen fires, heating safety, electrical hazards, escape planning, apartment and townhouse safety, and modern fire risks like lithium batteries.
Seasonal & Situational Safety
Season by season: heating and chimneys, brush fire season, grilling, holiday decorations, severe weather, generators, and open burning rules.
In an Emergency: What to Do
Calling 911, home fires, gas leaks, medical emergencies, and what happens after you call.
Emergency Preparedness
Emergency kits, visible house numbers, teaching kids about safety, and preparing with mobility limitations.