Practice home fire safety Published Feb. 13, 2008 Fire Prevention Office TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE -- On Feb. 4, a Napa City family of four lost their lives to an unexpected house fire, the circumstances of which are still under investigation. This tragic event could happen anywhere including Travis. Listed below are some fire safety tips to keep in mind when planning your family's "Great Escape" plan. Escape plans Plan and practice your escape. Every member of the household should know at least two exits from each room. Make sure that doors and windows needed for escape are unobstructed and easy to open. If an exit involves an upper-story window, make sure there is a safe way to reach the ground. Decide on a meeting place outside the home where every member of the household can gather once they've escaped. Know the phone number of the local fire department and arrange to use a neighbor's phone in the event of a fire. Travis' Fire and Emergency Services Landline number is 911 and the cell number is 424-4911. Sleeping areas More than half of all fatal fires happen while people are sleeping. You can save lives by installing smoke detectors and automatic sprinklers and by practicing family escape drills. And remember this fire-safety rule: Never smoke in bed or when you are drowsy. Living and family rooms Remove fire hazards and practice fire-safe behavior to prevent home fires. Use extreme caution with cigarettes, matches and lighters. Provide large, deep, non-tip ashtrays for smokers. Before you go to bed or leave your home after people have been smoking, check for smoldering butts under furniture cushions. Keep space heaters and wood stoves at least three feet away from anything that can burn. Always turn space heaters off when you go to bed or leave the home. Never leave children alone near a working fireplace, woodstove or space heater. Refuel kerosene heaters only with kerosene, outside and after the heater has cooled. Use a metal fire screen on your fire place. Have your chimney inspected by a professional once a year and cleaned if creosote has built up in the flue. Use only dry, seasoned wood in wood stoves and fireplaces. Kitchen Stove burners and ovens can burn you and start fires. Be attentive and remember these safety tips. - Never leave cooking unattended. - Keep your stove-top and oven clean and clear. - Wear tight-fitting or rolled up sleeves when cooking to avoid catching your clothing on fire. - Keep combustible materials away from the stove. Don't hang curtains, potholders, or towels near burners or the oven. - Turn pot handles inward so they can't be bumped or pulled over. - Never allow children or pets to play in the area where you are cooking. - If a small fire starts in a pan, carefully slide a lid over the pan to smother the flames and turn off the burner. Keep lid on until pan is cool. - Never pour water on a grease fire. - In microwave ovens, use only those containers designed for microwave use. Workshops, storage areas and outdoors You may have flammable materials in your garage. Exercise fire safety inside and out. - If you store gasoline, keep it outside your home in a shed or detached garage. Keep only small quantities in tightly sealed containers. Use gasoline only as a motor fuel never as a cleaning agent. - Always store paint and other flammable liquids in their original, labeled containers with tight-fitting lids. Use and store flammable liquids far away from appliances, heaters, pilot lights and other sources of heat or flame. Never smoke near flammable liquids. - Have your furnace checked by a professional once a year. - Remove trash from your home. Don't store anything near a furnace or heater. - Use outdoor cooking grills with caution. Never use gasoline to start the fire, and don't add charcoal lighter once the fire has started. You can use dry kindling to revive the flame. - Use cooking grills outside only, not on porches or balconies and away from vegetation and combustibles. - Before starting your lawnmower, snow blower or motorcycle, move it away from gasoline fumes. Let small motors cool before you refuel them. - Never store propane cylinders indoors. Every member of the extended Travis family is critical to the mission. Take the time to go home and inform your family about the "Great Escape." Ensure that every one of your family members know what to do in case of an unexpected home fire.