All October the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department will be sharing Fire Prevention & Safety tips. October 6-12, 2013 is Fire Prevention Week and the theme for 2013 is “Prevent Kitchen Fires”.
Along with the National Fire Protection Association we’ll be spreading the word that more fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home—and we’ll help teach people how to keep cooking fires from starting in the first place.
The Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department will host a Fire Prevention Open House on Thursday, October 10, 2013 from 6 PM – 9 PM at the Highland Park Fire Department Station 37 on South 5th Avenue (directions: http://goo.gl/maps/UNrHn). Light refreshments will be provided. Come out to meet HPVFD Firefighters, take a tour of the Fire House, Apparatus & Equipment and learn more about preventing Kitchen Fires.
According to the latest NFPA research, cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Two of every five home fires begin in the kitchen—more than any other place in the home. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of home fire-related injuries.
Often when we’re called to a fire that started in the kitchen, the residents tell us that they only left the kitchen for a few minutes. Sadly, that’s all it takes for a dangerous fire to start. We hope that Fire Prevention Week will help us reach folks in the community before they’ve suffered a damaging lesson.
Among the safety tips that firefighters and safety advocates will be emphasizing:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling, or boiling food.
- If you must leave the room, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
- When you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, stay in the home, and use a timer to remind you.
- If you have young children, use the stove’s back burners whenever possible. Keep children and pets at least three away from the stove.
- When you cook, wear clothing with tight-fitting sleeves.
- Keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper and plastic bags, towels, and anything else that can burn, away from your stovetop.
- Clean up food and grease from burners and stovetops.
Fire Prevention Week is actively supported by fire departments across the country. Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. Join us for the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department Fire Prevention Open House during Fire Prevention Week on Thursday, October 10 from 6 PM – 9 PM at the Fire Station on South 5th Avenue.
HPVFD Fire Prevention PSA: “Preventing Kitchen Fires”
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