Nobody can afford to ignore fire safety. Studies show that approximately 72% of fire-related deaths happen at home, and your chances of experiencing a serious fire in your lifetime are approximately one in five. The tragedy is that most home fires are completely preventable. You can beat the odds by putting to use a few fire safety measures that won’t cost you significant time or money.

Watch those extension cords. Extension cords are fires waiting to happen. It’s estimated that approximately 4,700 residential fires are caused by extension cords each year. Cords can overheat at the plug, socket, or anywhere along the length of the cord where a connection may have deteriorated. But it’s even more common for cords to overheat due to overloading—attaching appliances that require more watts than the cord’s wire size can provide. Be sure to buy high-quality cords—you get what you pay for—and don’t string extension cords where they might be walked on or worn down for any reason.

The kitchen is the most prone to fire. It’s crucial to be aware of the danger of fire in the kitchen. Several different types of fires may occur here. Dry fires can be caused by scorched food when water boils out of a pan—there’s a danger of this when you leave a pot unwatched on the burner. Grease and oil fires are also a danger, as are electrical fires from one of the many appliances common in kitchens. Appliances commonly found in kitchens can break down or develop worn connections without owners being aware—and these appliances are often left plugged in overnight. Never leave food cooking in the kitchen without someone there to keep an eye on it.

Make sure your family is protected. You should have a routine in place in case of fire. Everyone in the house should know how to get out safely from their bedrooms or anywhere else in the house, and should also know where to meet once safely out. Teach your kids to stop, drop and roll in case of a fire catching on clothes. Make sure all the adults in your house know where to find the fire extinguishers and how to use them.

Careful of candles and matches. Incendiary products such as matches should be kept under lock and key if you have kids—and you should teach them the dangers of playing with such items. In addition, never leave candles burning unattended—and don’t burn candles in flimsy or non-fireproof candle holders. Metal and glass are typically the best materials for candle holders, but be careful with metal—a cheap metal candle holder might heat up in the presence of flames.

Keep your smoke alarms in working order. There should be smoke alarms on each floor of your home, in or near each bedroom. You should test them every month and change the batteries at least once a year. Many fire experts suggest buying both ionization and photoelectric alarms; some models are combinations of both.

Consider fire sprinklers. Even with fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, fire safety tips and a solid plan your family can stick to when there’s a fire in the house, you’re not completely safe. Fire sprinkler systems are the best way to prevent home fires because they activate to extinguish the fire automatically the moment it starts. Otherwise, you’d have to wait for the fire brigade to show up or try to extinguish the fire yourself with a fire extinguisher—something that can be risky, and may not be possible if the fire extinguisher is made inaccessible by the fire.

Protecting your family from fire is something you can’t leave to chance. Follow these fire safety tips, and hopefully you and your family will never experience a serious house fire.