The weather is not a conversation-starter anymore here of late -- it is the conversation.

For South Carolina, a "prolonged" cold snap is a span of more than three days of unseasonably low temperatures.

Already we have had the "prolonged."

Now the area is well into its second week of frigid weather. The Columbia office of the National Weather Service noted that the temperatures lately have been about 15 degrees below what is normal for this time of year in South Carolina. Also the state hasn't seen this long a cold spell since the 1970s.

As we all now have warm thoughts simply for warmth, let's not allow our search for heat make us careless.

Both heat and cold can kill in the winter.

To be expected, more residential fires occur in the winter as people are heating their abodes.

More than half the home fire deaths between 2003 and 2006 occurred between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. in houses that had no smoke alarms or ones that weren't working, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

In 2008, there were 3,320 civilian deaths and 13,560 injuries from residential fires, according to the NFPA.

NFPA research has also shown that in homes with smoke alarms, one fifth of them weren't working, either from missing, disconnected or dead batteries being the cause.

As we move into the new year and the brunt of the winter season, let's remember common sense precautions to prevent house fires.

Residents should install smoke alarms in all bedrooms, all hallways and every floor of one's home. Batteries should be changed at least once a year and checked monthly.

Smoke alarms older than 10 years old should be replaced. Ideally, all smoke alarms in a house should be interconnected so if one sounds, they all do.

Hypothermia is when a person's body temperature falls below what is required for normal metabolism and functions. This can occur when body temperature falls by as little as two degrees for mild hypothermia. Families should be especially mindful of the elderly and ill who are more susceptible to hypothermia.

For residents using kerosene heaters, invest in carbon monoxide detectors to make sure this odorless, colorless and tasteless gas isn't building up in the home. Carbon monoxide is produced anytime kerosene, gas, oil, wood or charcoal is burned.

In the United States, there is a civilian fire death every two hours and 38 minutes.

This is one event in which Barnwell County can arrive at late - or better yet - not at all for 2010.