Candles, portable heaters, fireplaces, strings of cheap lights and plenty of other things that can cause sparks or flames to fly are in regular use this time of year.

Unfortunately, all too often their use results in a damaging house fire. In the past few weeks, volunteer firefighters in Harford County have responded to several conflagrations in homes. In some cases, the causes are known. In others, the causes aren't, but one thing has become clear to those of us who have regularly reported on emergency situations: house fires seem to be more likely in late autumn and winter.

While not all are caused by things like keeping candles too close to curtains or plugging too many strings of lights into a single outlet, enough are that it's worth pointing out something that seems as rote as telling people to look both ways before crossing the street. Here it is: When dealing with things that could cause fire, be careful. Don't leave lighted candles unattended. Don't plug a bunch of things into a single outlet. Make sure the chimney is clean before lighting a fire. Make sure portable heaters are clean, filled with the proper fuel and a safe distance from things that burn.

Also, just in case the unthinkable happens, make sure there are fresh batteries in your smoke alarms. In recent years, the suggestion has been to change batteries on the weekends of clock changing.

If you didn't do it, it's not too late. Don't wait until it is.