Follow These Tips To Help Prevent House Fire

It’s something we've all done on our way to work -- wonder if we left something on at home. It turns out, our bad habits could increase our risk of a house fire.

Every hour, at least 42 homes catch fire in the United States and most are preventable.

The first mistake homeowners make: crowding appliances together. Experts say you need to spread out your devices so there's enough room for the heat to escape. Also, make sure to plug appliances directly into the wall.

Next, don't plug an extension cord into another extension cord. It can cause the devices to short circuit and spark a fire. Firefighters say it's important to make sure your power strip has a built-in surge protector.

Third, don't leave the roast cooking in the oven while you're at church on Sunday morning. Food inside ovens or on stoves can get hot enough to boil. The one exception, crock pots. They typically don't get hot enough to create a big fire concern.

Finally, when you take the clothes out of the dryer, be sure to get the lint out too. Lint can collect around the drum of a dryer and catch fire. In fact, it's estimated close to 3,000 house fires are caused by dryer lint each year.