This year's Fire Prevention Week is focused on the kitchen. With the kitchen being the source of the majority of residential fires, Deputy Fire Chief Trevor Morrissey says that the week is intended to ensure people take greater care when cooking in their homes.
While cooking is something people do every day, Morrissey says they need to be mindful of what they are doing, whether that means not leaving food unattended or keeping their cooking surfaces clear of things which could catch fire.
"In the kitchen, you are literally playing with fire," Morrissey says.
Paying attention is one of the most important parts of preventing kitchen fire damage, since fires get big quickly. If unattended, a small fire could cause significant amounts of damage.
"A fire doubles in size every 30 seconds. An unattended fire, a flare up, something that overheats starting a small fire, a small fire is only small for 30 seconds. After that 30 seconds the fire will double, and double again. Coming into the Christmas season we add decorations and all those other flammables in the home, so a small fire in the kitchen can engulf an entire house very quickly."
Another important step for preventing fire and burns is to keep a kid-free zone in the kitchen, Morrissey explains. With the way kids learn and try to replicate their parents, he notes that they need to learn what they cannot do in the kitchen area, to prevent fire, burns and scalding. Things like turning pot handles inward or keeping kids away from the stove area are big parts of keeping them safe in the kitchen.
With fire prevention week, the goal is to keep fire safety in the forefront of people's minds, especially in areas where they might otherwise take it for granted.
