Disclosure: AccuWeather sponsored this post. Opinions are mine 100%.

I grew up in St Louis, Missouri with horrible winters. If you grew up in a home that was cold a lot of the time, due to a damaged roof and needed the assistance of someone like a hail damage roofing company to come and fix this during the winter months, you might not be the biggesst fan of the winter either! Also, I had a mother who had a fear of driving in the snow, so basically her winter worries and fears trickled down to me, since you do hear a lot of car accidents happening a lot in winter weather with many spending their weather with a lawyer and court dates.

Here in the North East and across America the winter season is approaching at a rapid speed. Thankfully AccuWeather, the global leader in weather information and digital media, has extended its continued mission to save lives, protect property and help people prosper with its new severe weather preparedness program, AccuWeather Ready, that focuses on keeping consumers safe and informed.

With a shared goal to help educate and protect people, especially throughout the cold winter season, AccuWeather has partnered with the FDNY Foundation to educate local students on how to be ready for winter weather – with preparedness plans and fire safety.

Local NYC kids getting @accuweather ready with The FDNY. Thankful for every fireman and every fire department across America this holiday season. They are our heroes! Is your family accuweather ready? Learn more on how to be ready. It's so important to educate your family and be accuweather.com/ready #accuweatherready #sp ??

A photo posted by The Moms (@themomsnetwork) on Nov 22, 2016 at 10:43am PST

We were invited to the FDNY Fire Zone, in New York City to get a first hand look at the simulation room, and learn more on how to educate our children on the steps to take in case of an emergency. My children who are 14, 11 and 7 know many of the basics but this experience and new information will have us even more prepared.

The firefighters spoke with the children about knowing their home addresses, and being prepared to provide it when calling 911, which many younger ones shockingly did not know.

The FDNY listed Space Heaters as their main concern as fire starters during the winter months. They encourage everyone to ensure it is safe for use within their home, and also to make sure it is 3 feet clear of furniture, drapes or anything else that can catch fire.

The firefighters also spoke about the importance of fire alarms and how Fire Alarm Installers can fit properties with alarms to help make homes and businesses safer.

Additionally, the children were taken through a simulated smoke room where they demonstrated how to stay low and go in case of an emergency.

For a list of the top leading causes of fires in the home and ongoing weather preparedness tips and tools including in-app push notifications when bad weather is coming, personalized weather preparedness plans, and tailored emergency kits with detailed shopping lists are all available on the 24/7 AccuWeather Network, AccuWeather.com/Ready and the AccuWeather app.