Fire prevention tips Published Oct. 12, 2011 By Minot Air Force Base Fire Emergency Services Minot Air Force Base Fire Emergency Services MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The leading causes of fires in the home are cooking, heating equipment and electrical. Smoking materials and heating equipment are the leading causes of home fire deaths. December and January are the peak months for home fires and home fire deaths. Home structure fires are more likely to happen around the dinner hours between 5 - 8 p.m. Be careful when cooking. Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, broiling or grilling food. The leading cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking. Stay in the kitchen when cooking. To extinguish a pan fire, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Allow the pan to completely cool before removing the lid. To extinguish an oven fire, keep the oven door closed and turn off the stove. If you have a small stovetop fire and don't feel comfortable attempting to extinguish the fire, get out of the house and call the fire department for help. Have central heating equipment serviced every year by a professional. Have the chimney cleaned and inspected before each heating system. Keep space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. Turn off space heaters when leaving the room or going to bed. Space heaters account for one-third of home heating fires and three-fourths of all home heating fire deaths. Smokers should smoke outside the home. Provide large deep sturdy ashtrays. Keep matches and lighters in a locked cabinet out of reach of children. Smoking is a leading cause of fire deaths. Smoking outside the home will prevent a fire from being started by a discarded cigarette. Make sure electrical cords are in good condition and not frayed or cracked. Install a smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside of every sleeping area and on every level of the home. Test smoke alarms monthly. Approximately 65 percent of reported home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or working smoke alarms. For further information please call the Fire Prevention section at 723-3561 or 723-6690.