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FDNY Lieutenant: Don’t Take Fire Safety For Granted At Home: VIDEO: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/03/01/fdny-lieutenant-dont-take-fire-safety-for-granted-at-home/

March 1, 2015 3:51 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — An FDNY official is reminding people to be mindful about fire safety, especially as they do all they can to stay warm inside.

Nearly 90 percent of all fire-related deaths are inside homes, and the winter months are the worst.

FDNY Lt. Anthony Mancuso, head of the Fire Education Safety Unit, joined CBS2’s Andrea Grymes to discuss some important tips and reminders.

“The winter’s the toughest time,” Mancuso said. “This is a big problem.”

Mancuso said people should try to use battery-operated, flameless candles or flashlights when they lose power.

He also said electric space heaters are the only space heaters that are legal in New York City. But even with those, people should not plug them into extension cords, should keep them at least 3 feet away from anything that can burn and should not run them while they’re not in the room or asleep.

And of course, having a working smoke alarm “is the major thing you should have in your home because this is what’s going to wake you up and get you going.”

For more safety tips, click on the video above.

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