Must haves for any home, condo or apartment

Take it from a retired volunteer firefighter, there are five things everyone should remember about the place where they live.

1) have at least 2 fire extinguishers in your residence. You should have an ABC or BC rated fire extinguisher in your kitchen, close to the stove but not next to it. You should also have an ABC rated fire extinguisher in your bedroom and here is why. If you are woken up in the middle of the night with your smoke detector going off, you want to grab the fire extinguisher by your bed . This way, if you need to use the fire extinguisher to help exit your home, it's right there. You can get a two pack at Home Depot for less than $30.00.

2) smoke detectors outside every bedroom and in the kitchen. There are three different types, Ionization, Photoelectric and Duel Sensor. I prefer the dual sensor type (ionization and photoelectric). Ionization type smoke detectors can quickly detect fast flaming fires with small amounts of smoke (great for kitchens). Photoelectric type respond faster to a fire in its early smoldering stage (great for outside bedrooms). Which ever type you have or buy, the key thing is to remember to replace the batteries once a year.

3) have LED flashlights through-out your residence. I prefer LED because the light is brighter and lasts longer. You can find multi pack LED flashlights at most hardware stores or places like Costco.

4) have a carbon monoxide detector in your home. As many people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning as they do from actual fires. Carbon monoxide is colorless and tasteless and is in every home that uses gas, has a fireplace or a garage. I prefer the kind of tester that just plugs into an electrical outlet in your home. They can be purchased at almost any hardware store.

5) create a fire escape plan and practice it. Make sure that you have two ways out of every room (door and window) and identify a meeting place outside your home for everyone meet there in case of a fire.