The Northshore Fire Department is celebrating its new headquarters fire station (7220 N.E. 181st St., Kenmore) with an open house and pancake breakfast Oct. 15. The breakfast is from 9-11 a.m., and station tours are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fire-department personnel will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about the new building.

In accordance with Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 9-15), the department offers the following tips for protecting your home and family from fire:

• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

• Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.

• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.

• Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.

• If you smoke, smoke outside. Use deep, wide ashtrays on a sturdy table.

• Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.

“Preventing home fires is always our No. 1 priority, but that is not always possible,” Community Educator Terri Jones states, “Residents need to provide the best protection to keep their homes and families safe in the event of a fire. This can be achieved by developing an escape plan, which you practice regularly and equipping homes with life-saving technologies like smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers.”

The following tips will help keep your family safe if there is a fire in your home:

• Install smoke alarms inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home (including the basement).

• Interconnect all smoke alarms in the home so when one sounds, they all sound.

• Test smoke alarms at least monthly and replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond when tested.

• Make sure everyone in your home knows how to respond if the smoke alarm sounds.

• Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible ways out.  Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.

• If you are building or remodeling your home, consider installing home fire sprinklers.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week visit www.firepreventionweek.org. Information about fire sprinklers can be found at www.homefiresprinkler.org.