Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen said that the city’s police, fire and public works departments have been working on plans to deal with this week’s winter storm.

“Winter storms are very difficult for the weather folks to predict,” Esbensen said. “Our mission here is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

The goal is to “make sure we’re able to deliver a consistent level of service in a challenging weather situation,” Esbensen said.

The city of Eden Prairie is reminding residents who might be leaving the city for the winter to take a few steps to keep their homes safe this winter.

* Turn the water off if leaving the residence for more than three weeks

* Call the city’s Utility Division at 952-949-8530 with any questions related to turning your water off.

* Leave the thermostat at 50 degrees

* Have someone check your property on a monthly basis

* Give your neighbors an emergency number

* Make sure the Eden Prairie Police Department knows who to contact in case of an emergency

Depending on how you look at it, Nov. 29 was a day of monumental bad and good luck for Todd Smith. He and his dog, the sole residents of a house on Essex Court in Eden Prairie, had the good luck to return early on Sunday to a house that was still standing.

The bad luck: A fire that started in a lighting fixture in his basement had been smoldering for hours, leaving extensive damage. The house would have likely been a total loss, had it not been for his basement plumbing acting as a sort of crude sprinkler system, said Fire Chief George Esbensen.

"Cooking fires are preventable, and yet cooking remains the number-one cause of residential fires in Minnesota," according to a news release. "Of more than 5,000 home fires last year, 40 percent started in the kitchen. With the Thanksgiving holiday around the corner, State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl is reminding people about potential dangers in the kitchen."

The National Fire Protection Association offers several tips for Halloween fire safety.

“Using flashlights as alternatives to open flames in pumpkins and walkway decorations will keep your trick-or-treaters safe,” says State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl. “If you host a party, try battery-operated candles that won’t ignite Morticia’s draping sleeves. Many costume fabrics ignite easily, and burn fast and hot. That’s not the kind of scare you want at your Halloween gathering.”

Last year, residential fires claimed 38 lives in Minnesota; 75 percent of the deaths occurred in homes without working smoke alarms. State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl thinks these facts alone should be enough to convince people to install and maintain smoke alarms.

“Those 38 victims died without time to escape,” Rosendahl says in a news release, “An inexpensive alarm and a set of fresh batteries could have saved their lives.”

The Eden Prairie Police and Fire departments will have their annual open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.

“Each year in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week the city of Eden Prairie hosts an Open House at Fire Station 1 (14800 Scenic Heights Road) showcasing public safety staff, equipment and demonstrations,” according to the city’s Police Department blog, at www.edenprairie.org.

A boat crash will be simulated during a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) training drill including more than two dozen police and fire departments, government agencies and first responders in the Lake Minnetonka area, according to a news release.

The Excelsior Fire District is staging the drill, which the Eden Prairie Fire Department is scheduled to be part of.

According to a news release:

"Thousands of students will soon be reporting to Minnesota college campuses; more than 100,000 attend public institutions, alone. Many will live in off-campus housing and some will be living away from home for the first time. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal reminds students and parents that this is the time to study up on fire safety issues," according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety [Scroll down for tips].

The release said: