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Tips to preventing a house fire during the cold weather season

Simple Safety tips to prevent a house fire

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga -- When the weather gets cold, we start hearing a lot about accidental fires.

Since Christmas, 10 house fires have occurred in DeKalb County alone.

This doesn't count the string of fatal house fires across the Atlanta metro in recent weeks.

11Alive news was on the scene of two fires Thursday in Cobb County and one in Paulding County which took the life of the home owner.

11Alive's Joe Floccari talks to Captain Eric Jackson with Dekalb County Fire Rescue for some tips to keep your family safe during the cold weather.

Simple tips to prevent a house fire:

1. Fireplace: Clean your fireplace. Get your chimney cleaned and inspected from a specialist. Always keep the mesh screen closed.

2. Space heaters: Keep flammable things at least 3-feet form heating equipment. Also, unplug the space heater when you leave the house or are not present. Plug the space heater directly into an outlet as recommended.

3. Never use an oven to heat your home.

4. Fire extinguisher: Everyone should have one. Make sure the arrow on the fire extinguisher is pointing inside the green.

5. Smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector are a must. Also check them monthly and change the batteries annually to be safe.

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