National Fire Authority (NFA) is again urging members of the community to discuss fire safety with their family at home.

NFA CEO John O'Connor said every family needs to practice fire safety at home.

The NFA CEO highlighted that 27 property fires so far this year is a concern to the NFA.

"If your house or building ever catches on fire, your family members need to know what to do.

Mr O'Connor highlighted that some members of the community assume that a fire will not happen in their homes but when it happens and only realize the dangers and consequences of a fire when it happens to them.

"We must never assume that a fire will not happen to our home. We all use fire sources at our homes as such the risk of a fire exists in all our homes. If we are all careful, take fire safety seriously, discuss fire safety with our family members and more importantly practice fire safety in our homes every day, then we can control the possible causes of fires and prevent fires from occurring.

Home owners are advised to discuss the following fire safety planning guidelines with their family members at home:

• Keep fire hazards out of children's reach. Store matches and flammable materials on high shelves or keep them in a locked cabinet.
• Create a fire safety plan. Teach each member of the family what to do in case of a fire. Teach children to feel the door to see if it is hot. If it is, go to the window. If it is not hot, then walk out of the house to a designated meeting place.
• Teach your family what to do if their clothes catches fire. They must "stop, drop and roll." Have each family member practice dropping to the floor, covering their faces with their hands and rolling around to put out imaginary flames.
• Instruct your family about staying close to the ground if a room is filling with smoke. More oxygen is available near the floor because smoke rises toward the ceiling. Have your family pretend that the room is filled with smoke and then practice crawling along the ground.

"Fire prevention is important and should be practiced in our homes, NFA needs everyone's support to prevent fires from occurring in the first place", Mr O'Connor added.

Firefighters extinguishing the house fire in Nadawa.