OKC Fire Official Offers Tips On Preventing, Escape House Fire

Now we have only about three minutes to escape a burning home. That's just a fraction of the time we had 30 years ago. That’s because we have more synthetic materials in our homes.

Oklahoma City fire officials said the material is not what starts the fire. The synthetic material only helps the spread. Fire officials said the most common cause of fires in the city is us.

1/21/2016 Related Story: Synthetic Materials Increase The Danger Of House Fires

We're told the most common causes of fire are unattended cooking, cigarettes, and space heaters.

So here are a few quick tips to prevent fires: watch your cooking, discard cigarettes properly and keep up maintenance on any heat source.

Now is the time to have working smoke alarms. Also, have a plan. You want two exits in every room, have a meeting place, and then practice your plan with your family.

Finally, once you are outside your home, call 911. Don't call while still inside.

But again, practice, practice, practice.

"They do all the things that people don't normally do in their own home, so if you would do the same things in your home that you'd do in your place of business, you stand a much greater chance of survival," said Chief Benny Fulkerson, Oklahoma City Fire Department.

Another suggestion from Chief Fulkerson, consider a residential sprinkler system. It could save your life.