If you didn’t know, last month marked Fire Prevention Week. Hopefully you had a chance to stop by our Open House and took some time to talk fire safety with your kids. This year’s Fire Prevention theme was helping prevent kitchen fires. According to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) kitchen fires were the #1 cause of home fires and fire injuries in the home, and the 2nd leading cause of home fire deaths from 2017-2021.

The good news is you can take a few simple steps to help make your kitchen safer and reduce the risk of fires. The #1 cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking. Do not leave the kitchen area when cooking. If you have to leave, even if for a couple minutes, turn the burners off. Remember to double check that you have turned everything off when done and before leaving. If you’re forgetful, use a timer to remind you to turn the stove off. Next, make a 3 foot “kids free” zone around the stove. Many burn injuries happen to children when around hot stoves, so try and keep them away as much as possible.

If you do experience a kitchen fire, know what to do – and what NOT to do.

DO:
• Call 911 and get everyone out
• Close the oven door
• Turn off burners and/or oven if safe
• Slide a lid over a pan fire
• If safe, you can use a fire extinguisher
• If burned with hot liquids, especially children and seniors, immediately call 911 for prompt medical attention.

DO NOT:
• Do Not attempt to move any burning pot or pan. You can easily trip or spill hot liquid onto yourself and potentially spread the fire.
• Do Not put any water on a fire that involves grease or cooking oils, this can cause extremely rapid fire spread.

Remember, Cooking Safety Starts with YOU! And don’t forget to test your smoke detectors and have a home fire escape plan. More information on all these topics can be found at www.nfpa.org.

Thanksgiving fire facts from NFPA

Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average.

* Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
* Cooking causes half (53%) of all reported home fires and nearly two of every five (38%) home fire injuries, and it is a leading cause of home fire deaths (18%).
* On Thanksgiving day alone, an estimated 1,160 home cooking fires were reported to U.S fire departments in 2021, reflecting a 297 percent increase over the daily average.