With Fire Prevention Week comes a reminder from the American Red Cross to check those smoke alarms and make a safety plan.

Once we hit the winter months, the Red Cross says its volunteers typically respond to 27% more home fires between November and March than compared to the rest of the year.

So here’s a few quick tips for you. Make sure there are working smoke alarms on every level of your home and check the manufacturers date because smoke detectors 10 years or older need to be replaced. Also, design a fire escape plan and pinpoint a safe place to gather outside in case of an emergency.

In honor of Fire Prevention Week, one state lawmaker says she’s trying to make sure you’re safe if a fire starts inside your home.

Assemblywoman Monica Wallace is pushing Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would require home builders to give buying estimates for what it would cost to install a fire sprinkler system.

Sprinklers are required in commercial and multi-family properties, but are not in single and two-family homes.

The National Fire Protection Association said sprinkler systems reduce the chance of death by fire by 80% and they reduce damage by 97%.

Wallace said the average cost for a fire sprinkler system is less than $3,000 inside a 2,000 square-foot home.