Almost 31 percent of US fires are residential, and almost 50 percent of residential fires are kitchen/cooking related.But kitchen/cooking fires only account for about 9 percent of fire fatalities.Carelessness, at 15 percent, is the next biggest cause of fires resulting in fatalities, followed by smoking and electrical malfunction at 12 and 11 percent respectively.Cooking-related housefires usually occur during the day when most occupants are awake, but that leaves 50 percent of fires getting started at other times of the day...times when occupants are less aware.

Three years ago 3275 Americans died in fires, and the dollar losses from those 1,298,000 fires amounted to $11.8 Billion.That's according to the US Fire Administration.Dollar loss is surely the lesser loss, compared to loss of life's treasures...and loss of life itself.

Last night one of our television stations in Memphis, TN ran a segment illustrating what firefighters believe is the single most important factor  in surviving a night-time housefire.

Keep your bedroom door closed while you sleep!

A fire that begins in some other part of the house sends dense and toxic(deadly) smoke rising and filling the house from the ceiling downward.

By the time the smoke sinks to the bed, four-fifths of the room is smoke filled, and sleepers may die of smoke inhalation before becoming conscious enough to attempt escape.But, If they wake in a panic and stand up, their head is thrust up into smoke that is even more dense and deadly.

A closed bedroom door will prevent smoke from entering the room, and will provide an extra two or three minutes for occupants to wake and make some rational decisions about escape.

Survival may mostly depend on a close bedroom door, but I want to share a number of other factors that are almost as vital.

Factor 2.The film clip illustrating survival instructions showed firemen crawling through a burning house.That's because the most breathable air in a burning house will be closest to the floor.The panicked impulse is to run though a burning house, but the smart thing is to crawl.

Factor 3:Equip every bedroom with a hammer or hatchet or crowbar.I would favor a crowbar because it can be used to smash and to pry open windows.And, keep it within reach of the window.

Factor 4.Don't let the locks on your doors delay your escape.Chances are you have multiple lock, deadbolts, and latches on the inside of all the exterior doors of your home. 

You installed all that protection to keep intruders out, but in the panic of a housefire, all that protection can prevent your escape and insure your death.

Go to each exterior door in your house, and time how long it takes you for you to stand there locating the right keys, inserting and turning them

until you get outside.Suppose it takes thirty seconds.In the panic of a housefire it could take twice or three times as long...and you simply don't have that long to stand fiddling with locks and latches while breathing deadly smoke. Rescuers will find your body inside the door with keys nearby.

Consider these life-saving changes.Forget installing locks or latches above the doorknob or door lever.Those locks and latches will kill you if you're standing and inhaling toxic smoke.

You wont remove deadbolts or latches that are already installed, but unlock them and throw the keys away.Remove or render latches inoperable if they are higher than the door's knob or latch because you can't reach them safely if there's a fire.

Install a new deadbolt if you wish, but between the doorknob and the floor.

Then have a key made and kept inserted in each lock or deadbolt!Think about it!If you keep keys in all your door locks it doesn't give an intruder that much of an advantage...he has to break your door in before he could unlock your door, but if you're desperate to escape a burning house, having the key already in the lock or deadbolt can save precious seconds...and precious lives.

So, no more panicked searching for keys...and the right key for every lock or deadbolt.Go to the hardware store and have keys made for every lock and deadbolt.Make it a bedtime routine to confirm the keys will let you out with a simple twist.

Factor 5:  People install bars on their windows, never thinking they might want to escape though one of those window.Consider the

pros and cons of bars on your windows.

I know these suggestions are designed for those who live in single-

family homes, and that other residential situations will present residents with unique safety issues.But, I hope everyone who reads this will give some creative thought to wise actions to be taken, by you and by any others who may be part of your household, in the event of fire or other emergency.