New York ranks second in the nation with the most fatal fires per capita, according to a new report from the website "A Secure Life."
Fire Prevention month is underway, and the non-profit Prevent 1st is announcing a short film competition for local middle and high school students.
Prevention 1st vice president, retired Rochester Fire Department Lt. Robert Crandall says the contest, called "Films on Fire," focuses on the three groups who at most at risk.
"The young, the older folks, people with special needs, intellectually and developmentally disabled folks, but also the general public, as well," he said.
He says the contest challenges young people to focus on the key messages that are most important for people to remember about fire stafety.
That includes smoke alarms, escape routes, safe cooking, and identifying hazards in the home, such as electrical and heating.
Crandall says one of those themes, an escape plan, should be practiced in the home every six months.
"An emergency escape plan ought to be automatic. It ought to be intuitive, it ought to be something you've done many times before, and by everyone in the family so that you can count on them to making the right decisions and taking the right action," he said.
In addition to a video contest, there's also a poster contest that young people can enter.
Contest rules can be found at the Prevention 1st website.