As the outdoor temperature drops and the days grow shorter, Alaskans crank the heat up and generally spend more time indoors. According to the state, fall season tends to be the peak season for house fires in Alaska, and those are often deadly.
Last year the 805 house fires were the source of 66 injuries, 18 deaths, and nearly $6.1 million in property damage.
Mike Warzewick, a spokesman for the state's Fire and Life Safety division, said accidents involving unattended cooking were the leading cause of house fires, followed by improperly maintained or malfunctioning heating furnaces.
The most important steps to preventing fires, Warzewick said, are installing functional smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in every residential building, regularly testing those alarms, taking proper care of stoves and furnaces, and never leaving cooking unattended.
"We have a plethora of information on fire safety" available at the state's website, he said.