What are they and what to do about them

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The Township Committee and the Waldwick Fire Department would like to urge local residents to make their homes fire safe by, "cleaning up any fire hazards." All the ingredients for fire are common in your home fuel, ignition sources, air, etc. Every year, fire kills thousands of persons in their homes and damages or destroys half-a-million homes. You can prevent home fires if you know and follow basic fire safety rules and eliminate fire hazards as you go about doing your daily house cleaning chores.

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• Don't let rubbish pile up, dispose of it regularly.

• Keep newspapers and magazines in neat piles and dispose of them on regular recycling days or bring them to the Recycling Center.

• Keep anything that will burn away from furnaces or stoves.

• Don't store flammable objects under wooden stairs.

• Have your heating system checked yearly by a professional.

• Check your chimney for loose bricks and cracks.

• The stove pipe on a wood burning stove should be checked regularly.

• Always use a screen in front of your fireplace.

• Don't store items in front of your furnace or in front of the gas meter. The fire department must have access to it.

• In the late fall, before snow arrives, place a marker at the curb where your gas shut-off is on your gas feed line.

• Have working smoke detectors in your home.

• Make and practice an escape plan with your family.

• Keep fire hydrants clear of snow, ice or weeds. Keep it visible and available for the fire department. The house we save may be yours.

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