National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 8-14, and Gloucester Fire Prevention Officers Tony Villani and Tony Saccaro want to get the word out about preventing fires.

They also want to get the word out about Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad’s Open House, which will be held from noon-5 p.m. next Sunday, Oct. 15, at Station 1 on Main Street.

Villani and Saccaro spoke of the top six recommendations they have to help prevent fires and to lessen the impact when a fire occurs. Villani said that, while fire prevention officials used to warn about the dangers of smoking and of children playing with matches, society has changed and not that many fires are caused by those things today.

Lithium-ion batteries

But there’s a new threat, he said, and that involves lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are used in everything from electric cars to toys, including push mowers, power tools, e-bikes, and hoverboards, he said. But let them overheat, and they’re dangerous.

While toys ...