Firefighters offer tips to keep you and your family safe in the event of a home fire

After several recent fire fatalities, firefighters want people to follow some fire safety advice.

Basic steps like having working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors can help you and your family in the event of a fire in your home.

Remembering to change the batteries in those devices twice a year adds to your chances of survival.

We spoke to Assistant Fire Chief Chandler Corriveau from the Bangor Fire Department:

"Smoke detectors that are more than ten years old, we also recommend replacing those as well. You need to have a home escape plan, and you need to practice that plan. You've got to have a meeting place. Once you're out of your house, stay out of your house. Wait until the fire department comes. Close your door before you fall asleep. Thirty years ago, you had seventeen minutes to escape your house if it were on fire. Today, because of building materials and interior furnishings, you have three minutes or less, so you need to be prepared. No one ever thinks that their house is going to catch fire, but it can happen to anybody and it can happen at any time. So the better you are prepared, the safer you will be."

For more information about fire safety practices, please call your fire department.