Between an increase in cooking, keeping warm and the use of Holiday decorations, this turns into a busy time of year for firefighters, and if a fire breaks out in a home, every second matters.
Firefighters are really stressing the importance of people keeping their bedroom doors closed at night. It's something they say more than half of people don't do.
"That door is just a barrier to the smoke and the heat,” said Julie Popelka with the Cedar Rapids Fire Department. “Generally it's the smoke that will get people, and it's blocking the smoke that will get into your bedroom."
Popelka says parents shouldn’t worry at night about their kids sleeping with the door closed.
"A lot of times moms want to keep their open so that they can hear their kids when they're crying, but it's not worth that risk,” she said. “Keeping that door closed, giving you that amount of time in general, you're still gonna hear your kids. Mom, dad, you're in-tuned to hearing those kids.”
Firefighters say during a fire, feel the closed door first. If it's hot, then take another exit. If it's not, and there's a clear path to safety, take it. They are also reminding people to make sure that they have working smoke detectors.