Those who have wood-burning fireplaces do have an extra heat source but should use it with care. First of all, fireplaces should be shielded by a protective screen so that live coals don’t pop out and start a carpet or piece of furniture on fire. Furniture, rugs, wood and paper should be kept well away from a fireplace, Dahm says, and young children should be watched carefully.

Also, he warns, never burn trash in your fireplace. Keep the ash pit clean and always put the ashes outside the house in a metal container. Choose hardwood for burning, such as oak, apple, maple, ash or elm that has been seasoned for at least a year. Softwood, such as pine or the wood of other cone-bearing trees, should be used only for kindling. Burning softwood can leave soot and moist tar that can coat the inside of your chimney, making it more likely that the chimney can catch fire.

If a chimney or flue ever does catch fire, Dahm says to close the draft control and call the fire department immediately. Chimneys and flues should be cleaned at least once a year by a professional chimney sweep.

Electric space heaters and wood- or coal-burning stoves should be surrounded by plenty of air space. Dahm recommends keeping heaters of this type at least three feet from any wall. If they are closer than three feet, the wall should be protected with a sheet of asbestos board or metal.

Wood, cloth and paper should be kept well away from any space heaters, and heaters should be positioned away from exits or high traffic areas. Never leave children alone in a room with an operating space heater, Dahm warns.

To sleep safely, turn off any space heaters, check any fireplaces or wood-burning stoves, double-check stoves and ovens to be sure they are turned off, and shut off coffee makers and any other electric appliances. Fire can be started by a space heater left on overnight too close to some combustible material, he says.

The fire department also recommends sleeping with the bedroom doors closed. "It’s amazing how a closed door will stop the spread of fire and heat," Dahm says. "If there is a fire in your house, when you wake up you will not be jumping into an oven."

Another point to remember is that the primary source of heat in your home is also a major cause of fire. Dahm recommends that furnace filters be checked and replaced at least once a month during the heating season. Also, the furnace and any automatic controls should be checked and cleaned by a professional every year.

The best thing to do during a long power outage is to call someone you know who has power and go to their home, Dahm says, because most stopgap methods of keeping warm can be dangerous.

He doesn’t recommend using kerosene or camping-type heaters or cookers, such as Coleman stoves, inside the home. These heaters, when not vented, can give off dangerous byproducts such as carbon monoxide, a gas which is colorless, odorless, tasteless and highly poisonous. Children can also trip over these heaters and burn themselves or start fires, he points out.

Turning gas stove burners on high or using candles is also dangerous, as is any open flame. "When the power is out, your options are really limited," he notes.

To prevent a house fire from becoming a tragedy, E.D.I.T.H. is the name to remember -- Exit Drills In The Home. This means planning ahead of time what you and your family will do in case of fire.

"In the middle of the night when the smoke alarm goes off, that is not the time to try to decide what to do," Dahm says. "Every home is different, so you have to make a plan that works in your individual home."

Chances are great that the fire will start in the kitchen or living room and that someone will have to go out a bedroom window, he says, so make sure all bedroom windows can be opened and everyone knows how to open them. If you live in a two-story house, ladders or other means of exiting an upstairs room are something to consider.

Another important part of E.D.I.T.H. is to have a meeting place where all family members will gather. This might be on your own property or at a neighbor’s home. A prearranged meeting place will assure that people know all family members are safe and no one risks harm by going back into a burning building to look for someone who is already safely outside.

Dahm warns that family members should not risk going back into a burning building to rescue prized possessions or even pets.

"Pets usually know there’s a problem before you do. Think of yourself and your children before you think of your pets, but probably they will be waiting somewhere close to you to be let out." He says he knows of occasions when pets, especially dogs, have awakened their owners and let them know something was wrong.

Dahm points out that each October during Fire Prevention Week, members of the fire department visit all Lincoln elementary schools and teach children through third grade the E.D.I.T.H. drill. In case of fire, they are taught to stay low, roll out of bed and crawl to the door. If the door is cool, they can crawl out to escape and signal others. If the door is hot, they should plug the space under the door with a cloth to keep out the smoke and crawl to a window.

If they can safely exit through a window, they should and then go to the prearranged family meeting place. If they can’t exit, they should shout for help and wave a cloth for a signal. If the window won’t open, they should break it, while protecting the face.

One of the best safety precautions, in any kind of weather, is to keep the smoke alarm in good working order, Dahm says. "In many houses we go into because of fire, we find smoke alarms with no batteries. People burn something in the kitchen, the smoke alarm goes off, and they take out the batteries and don’t put them back. This happens far too often."

Don’t let it happen to you.