Turn on the smoke alarms and turn off the stoves because Fire Prevention Week is happening in Humboldt from Oct. 6-12. The theme for this year is "prevent kitchen fires."
"Kitchen fires are one of the leading causes of fires in North America that results in injuries," said Mike Kwasnica, fire chief of the Humboldt Fire Department. "It can be anyone, from the youngest to adults, right up to seniors."
To highlight fire prevention for the week, the fire department is having an open house on Oct. 10 and offering coffee and donuts to adults and children. While at the open house, they're hoping to inform and educate people on kitchen risks.
"Often when we're called to investigate a fire that started in the kitchen, residents tell us that they only left the kitchen for a few minutes," said Fire Commissioner Duane McKay in a news release. "Sadly, that's all it takes for a fire to start and get out of control."
The Humboldt Fire Department has been going to local schools with a fire truck to teach kids about fire safety and the gear they use. They were at Humboldt Public School on Oct. 3 and went to St. Augustine Catholic School on Oct. 7.
"By the time they reach the age of three or four, most of the kids who live in Humboldt would have been to the fire hall at least two or three times," said Kwasnica. "They would have been told not to play with matches and taught about smoke alarms."
According to Kwasnica, all of that education must be doing the trick, because he said there haven't been many fires in Humboldt in recent years.
"This year we've been really good. Structure fires have been down and fires in general have been down," he said.
"Saskatoon and Regina not so much, they haven't really increased or decreased."
This week is not just Fire Prevention Week in Humboldt, but also across Saskatchewan.
"Often these incidents can involve children," said Reiter in the same news release. "I encourage all parents and caregivers to sit down with their kids and discuss the issue of fire safety and to develop a plan on what to do when an emergency strikes."
However, the fire department doesn't just concern themselves with kitchen fires. They're also trying to teach people how to avoid accidents and injuries.
"People have to be aware when they're cooking to not leave pots unattended, to not turn stoves on and go do chores.
Stoves have to be monitored and watched, with the handles turned in," said Kwasnica.
According to Kwasnica, it's usually the elderly or the really young that have accidents. Young children are left alone and the elderly are often alone in their homes for long periods of time.
"Because they're staying in their homes for a lot longer, they can become a bit more forgetful than when they were younger," said Kwasnica.
While he is by no means stating the elderly are the main cause of fires, he is saying it is important for them to be cautious and aware.
Here are a few simple tips to help avoid kitchen fires:
If there are young children in the house, use the stove's back burners whenever possible
Keep children at least one metre away from the stove
When cooking, wear clothing with tight-fitting sleeves
Keep potholders, oven mitts, paper towels, or anything else that can burn away from your stovetop
Clean up food and grease from burners and stovetops as soon as possible
If experiencing a grease fire, slide a lid over it and turn off the burner
