Protect the people who make your house a home.

Home is where everyday life happens. Dinner on the stove. Laundry in the dryer. A heater warming the room. Phones charging for tomorrow.

It is also where a few simple precautions can make a tremendous difference.

At Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District, we want every household to have working alarms, safer daily habits, and a plan to get outside. Our commitment to your family begins long before an emergency.

Prevent the fire. Recognize the warning. Know your way out.

Working Smoke Alarms Give You Time

Make sure your first warning works.

We recommend smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of your home, including the basement. Follow installation instructions and applicable requirements.

• Test alarms every month using the test button.
• Replace smoke alarms when they reach ten years of age, or sooner if directed by the manufacturer.
• Follow manufacturer instructions for batteries, cleaning, and replacement.
• Never disconnect an alarm or remove a working battery to silence a nuisance alarm.
• Include appropriate alerting devices for anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing.

An alarm needs an action plan. Everyone should recognize its sound and know what to do.

Cooking: Stay With What You Heat

A distraction should not become an emergency.

• Stay in the kitchen while frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling. Turn off the burner if you leave.
• Keep towels, packaging, oven mitts, and other combustible items away from burners.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove.
• Maintain a three-foot area around the stove free of children and pets.
• Cook when awake and alert. Use a timer as a reminder.

For a small pan fire, only if you can do so safely, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Leave it covered until cool. Never carry a burning pan or put water on a grease fire.

For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

If you have any doubt, get outside, close the door behind you, and call 911.

Heat Your Home Safely

Warmth needs room.

• Keep combustible materials at least three feet from heating equipment.
• Keep children and pets away from heaters, fireplaces, and wood stoves.
• Turn portable heaters off and unplug them before leaving the room or going to bed.
• Use heaters with automatic tip-over shutoffs.
• Have chimneys and vents professionally inspected and cleaned at least annually.
• Use a sturdy fireplace screen.
• Place ashes in a metal container, soak them with water, and keep them at least ten feet from buildings and anything combustible. Dispose of them only when cool.

Never use an oven to heat your home.

Electrical Safety: Pay Attention to Warning Signs

Damaged cords, overloaded outlets, and improper connections deserve attention before something goes wrong.

• Replace damaged electrical cords.
• Plug major appliances and portable heaters directly into appropriate wall outlets.
• Do not use extension cords as permanent wiring.
• Keep cords out from beneath rugs and away from places where they can be pinched or damaged.
• Do not overload power strips or connect them together.
• Have a qualified electrician evaluate hot outlets, discoloration, buzzing, or repeatedly tripping breakers.

Stop using equipment that shows signs of damage or overheating.

Batteries & Charging

Treat stored energy with care.

Phones, tools, e-bikes, and other rechargeable devices need proper use and maintenance.

• Choose products certified by a recognized testing laboratory.
• Follow the manufacturer’s charging and storage instructions.
• Stop using batteries that swell, leak, change color, produce unusual odors or noises, or become excessively hot.
• Keep spare batteries away from combustible materials and excessive heat.
• Take lithium-ion batteries to an appropriate recycling facility; do not put them in household trash.

If a battery begins smoking or burning, move away, get everyone outside, and call 911.

Carbon Monoxide: A Danger You Cannot Smell

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas produced by fuel-burning equipment. A smoke alarm alone does not detect it unless the device is a combination smoke and CO alarm.

Install and maintain CO alarms according to manufacturer instructions and applicable requirements. Test them monthly and replace them at their specified end of life.

• Never operate a generator inside a home, basement, or garage.
• Position portable generators outdoors at least 20 feet from the home, with exhaust directed away from buildings and openings.
• Never bring charcoal grills indoors.

If a CO alarm sounds, get everyone into fresh air immediately and call 911 from outside. Stay out until responders say it is safe.

Make an Escape Plan Before You Need It

Everyone needs a way out.

• Identify two ways out of each room where possible.
• Keep doors, windows, and escape routes accessible.
• Choose a permanent outdoor meeting place a safe distance from the home.
• Plan who will help children and anyone needing assistance.
• Practice together at least twice a year.
• Sleep with bedroom doors closed.

If fire occurs, leave immediately. Close doors behind you if you can do so without delaying escape. Go to your meeting place and call 911.

Get out. Stay out. Tell firefighters if someone or a pet is missing. Never go back inside.

Escape Planning & Preparedness →

Fire Extinguishers Have Limits

Consider using an extinguisher only when the fire is small and contained, everyone has been alerted, the fire department has been called, you know how to use the correct extinguisher, and you have a clear escape route.

Never let an extinguisher delay your escape. If you are unsure, leave.

Start With a Walk Through Your Home

Test an alarm. Clear an exit. Move something away from a heater. Talk with your household about where to meet outside.

These are small actions with a purpose that matters: giving the people you love a safer place to live.

Umatilla Fire is here to help answer your fire safety questions. Together, we can make prevention part of everyday life.

Because protecting our community starts at home.