EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Fire Department wants to remind all residents that Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 4 through Oct. 10.

Fire officials want people to learn the motto, "Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned."

There are several ways to stay safe, here are some tips from El Paso Fire Department:

* Keep hot foods and liquids away from tables and counter edges so they cannot be pulled or knocked over.
* Have a 3-foot "kid-free" zone around the stove.
* Never hold a child in your arms while preparing hot food or drinking a hot beverage.
* Be careful when using things that get hot such as curling irons, oven, irons, lamps, and heaters.
* Install tamper-resistant receptacles to prevent a child from sticking an object in the outlet.
* Never leave a child alone in a room with a lit candle, portable heater, lit fireplace or stove or where a hot appliance might be in use.
* Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.
* Set your hot water temperature no higher than 120 degrees.
* Install anti-scald valves on shower heads and faucets.

The statistics are staggering. Each year roughly 3,000 people die as a result of home fires and burns, and more than 200,000 individuals are seen in the nation's emergency rooms for burn injuries.

The most common types of burn injuries result from fire or flame burns, scalds and contact burns.

Burns are painful and can result in serious scarring and even death.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871. According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire.