Accidental house fires are a serious safety threat to homeowners and their families.  Each year, roughly 3,400 people are killed in home fires or by burn injuries, making them the third-most-common cause of accidental deaths at home.   These threats include; stove top cooking, which occurs after residents put something on the stove but become distracted and forget about it; portable electric space heaters which come in contact with items such as sheets or window curtains and fires; smokers who lose track of their still-smoldering butts, which then come in contact with flammable surfaces such as couch cushions; electrical fires caused by faulty or deteriorating electrical cords; and candles which  have open flames and are fixtures in many households. 
All households should have at least one smoke alarm on each floor and preferable in every bedroom.  New smoke alarms should be installed every 10 years.  If you don't know the age of the smoke alarm, buy a new one.  Families should also plan and practice a home fire drill at least twice a year so that everyone in the house knows how to escape in case of a fire