Nanuet FD Open House Ends Fire Prevention Week [VIDEO]

The smell of popcorn wafted out of the Nanuet Fire Department. Unusual, but it was for a special occasion. The fire department ended their fire prevention week by opening their door to the community. There were activities for kids and information for adults about how to protect your family from fire.

"The best way to protect your family from fire is to be ahead of the game," said Nanuet Fire Department Commissioner Vincent Pacella. "With more than 360,000 home fires reported in the United States in 2009, your best defense is a good offense."

Watch the video to see how this year's open house went and check out this to see last year's open house. This year’s campaign focused on preventing the leading causes of home fire:

• cooking
• heating and electrical equipment
• candles and smoking materials

and the campaign urged people to protect their homes and families with life-saving planning.

In 2009, 2,565 people died in home fires. Nearly all of these deaths could have been prevented by taking a few simple precautions like having working smoke alarms and a home fire escape plan.

The Nanuet Fire Department offers the following tips for protecting your home and family from fire:

• Stay in the kitchen while you are cooking food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heaters.
• Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.
• If you smoke, smoke outside.
• Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.