National Fire Prevention Week focuses on family safety

    This is Fire Prevention Week.  For this year's campaign the focus is on keeping your family and your community safe from fire.
    Officials say almost all US homes have at least one smoke alarm.  But fire deaths are often the result of the alarm not working.
    One of the greatest dangers in the home are falling asleep while smoking.
Another potentially hazardous place is in the kitchen.  In Roanoke County, nearly 50-percent of home fires are the result of accidents in the kitchen.

    "There's a real danger.  It's the number one cause of house fires in America.  It's also the leading cause of fires here in Roanoke County.  So we've got to pay attention to kitchen fires, especially unattended cooking," said Brian Clingenpeel, public education specialist for Roanoke County Fire & Rescue.  "Any time you have something on the stove top you've got to stay with it to make sure it's okay."
    According to the National Fire Protection Association, home fires kill seven people every day.  The NFPA's website (linked here) is a great resource for safety information and more details about National Fire Protection Week.