After a recent house fire, Austin Fire Chief Jim McCoy asked our reporter to include a reminder to residents to make sure they have smoke detectors with working batteries in their homes. Test smoke detectors once a month and replace the batteries every six months, he said.

The reminder is well-advised, especially with the season into which we are headed. Forty-two percent of fire deaths in Minnesota in 2016 occured between January and April, according to the annual “Fire in Minnesota” report by the state fire marshal.

Undoubtedly, properly maintained smoke detectors will save lives, as will other behaviors. The fire department continues to reach out to us and our children about fire safety. It has links to fire safety organizations and efforts on its website as well as an online form to request a fire safety presentation for your group. Our collective experience in 2017 with fires is a good reason to pay attention to those messages.

After making it through 2016 with no fire deaths, two people died as the result of cooking fires. A 58-year-old man died Feb. 9, a 40-year-old mother raising six children died of smoke inhalation in August.

Unattended cooking is the leading cause of house fires in the state.

“Minnesotans continue to be in the greatest danger from fire in their own homes,” State Fire Marshal Bruce West said in summary of his report “Fire prevention efforts in the areas of cooking and heating must continue to be a top priority.”

Most fire deaths in the state happen in single family houses. Most of the civilian fire deaths in 2016 were of people 40 years of age and older. And, the No. 1 cause of fatal fires is careless smoking.

A recent string of house fires in Austin linked to smoking raises a red flag. In September, a  fire that damaged the side of a southwest house likely was started by cigarette ashes igniting a pile of leaves. Discarded cigarettes in a trash can ignited and damaged a southwest home on Halloween. And in late November, another house fire was started in the southeast after a cigarette was placed in an outdoor potted plant.

Earlier this month, a child playing with a lighter started a fire in a beanbag chair that significantly damaged a southeast Austin rental home.

The Austin Fire Department is ready to fight fires and save lives, but if we listen to it’s advice, it won’t need to.

Be safe, have a fabulous holiday season.

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