COCHRANE— Oct. 4 to 10 is Fire Prevention Week, and this year’s campaign is “Serving up Fire Safety in the Kitchen.”
Cooking is the leading cause of residential fires and fire injuries in Canada.
According to the University of the Fraser Valley’s Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research, in Alberta, 3,596 reported home cooking structure fires were responsible for 20 civilian deaths, 428 civilian injuries and 16 firefighter casualties between 2005 and 2014.
Direct property damage from these cooking fires was estimated at more than $192 million.
Flammable and combustible liquids, mostly fats, cooking oil or related substances, were the materials ignited first in roughly 56 per cent of cooking fires in Alberta.
Jeff Avery, inspector with Cochrane Fire Services, said the campaign “comes at a pretty good time.”
“We’ve had four calls in the last couple of months with some mishaps in the kitchen and some close calls.”
Unattended pots on the stove or forgotten items that boil down until nothing is left in the pot are some of the common causes of fires in the kitchen Avery has seen.
“Never leave anything unattended in the kitchen,” he said. “Definitely don’t have kids cooking in the kitchen, have lids on things cooking in the kitchen. Little things like that.”
A working fire extinguisher and a functioning smoke detector are also important things to have in your home.
It’s a good idea to ensure that everyone in your home knows how to properly operate the fire extinguisher.
Having a good pair of oven mitts to move burning items, keeping crockpots and slow cookers away from other surfaces that might heat up and keeping handles of cooking items turned into the stove are also important tips Avery mentioned.
Avery said that he is glad to see a week dedicated to fire safety and prevention, but for members of Cochrane Fire Services, that is a message that does not sleep.
“Fire prevention week will never just be one week, fire prevention to the fire department and all of the staff at the fire department it’s 365 days a year,” he said. “We’re here 24/7, 365, to ensure that fire prevention, the message gets out every single day.”
To learn more about Fire Safety Week and fire prevention, visit the National Fire Protection Association’s website at nfpa.org/.
