Guide 3 of 10

Power, heat and light

Keeping a home lit and warm when the power is out, with the fire and carbon monoxide rules that come with every flame and engine.

Through an outage, room by room

Light first, then heat, then the fuel you'll burn.

Plan the light before you need it: a flashlight for every person, spare batteries or a power bank.

CDC's rule is distance. The generator lives outdoors, well away from every opening in the house.

More than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents
Never in the home or garage, even with the doors open
Battery or battery-backup CO alarms near every sleeping area, with batteries checked when the clocks change
Headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, chest pain and confusion are the common symptoms

Close off the rooms you don't need so the heat you have stays where the people are.

NFPA's outage advice is flashlights and battery lights, and no candles at all.

Give every heater three feet of clear space, and keep a three-foot kid-free zone around open fires.

Turn portable heaters off when you leave the room or go to bed
Burn only the fuel the maker specifies in a fuel-burning heater
Use a sturdy fireplace screen, and put cooled ashes in a metal can away from the house
Have chimneys and heating equipment cleaned and inspected every year

EPA's target is wood under 20 percent moisture, checked with a moisture meter before it goes in the stove.

Season it for at least six months
Stack it outdoors and off the ground, with only the top covered
Start fires with newspaper, dry kindling or natural fire starters, never gasoline or kerosene
Keep painted, treated or glued wood, plastic and household trash out of the fire