CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign Fire Department is reminding people to take safety precautions this holiday season.

With all the cooking for Thanksgiving, they emphasize that kitchen safety is a top priority. This includes making sure that the stove and countertops are clean, smoke alarms are checked, and people are always being conscious of their surroundings — including thinking ahead of time.

Deputy Fire Marshal Jeremy Mitchell said the holidays can unfortunately be a time of accidents.

“You’re in a different situation. You’re with people that you’re not with every day, relatives, friends that you don’t see all the time at all. There’s the alcohol element involved with a lot of our holiday celebrations, so maybe people would have some kind of impairment. Their decision-making wouldn’t be as fast as it normally would be,” he said. “And you’re in that unfamiliar situation in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, and all of those things just kind of line up to where you could have a bad outcome if there was a fire or some other emergency.”

He also said building fires are more common during the winter months.