This year's Fire Prevention Week theme, "Cooking Safety Starts with You: Pay Attention to Fire Prevention," works to educate everyone about the importance of attentive cooking. Nationwide, cooking fires cause more than $1 billion in in direct property damages per year and inattentive cooking remains the leading cause of cooking fires and casualties according to the National Fire Protection Association.
"Local fire departments across the Commonwealth will be holding open houses, with activities for kids and important fire safety facts to share," Cook said. "It's a great opportunity to introduce kids to emergency responders, and for the whole family to learn more about how to stay safe when fires occur."
Today's homes are filled with synthetic materials that burn hotter and faster than ever. In a typical fire, you may have as little as two minutes to safely exit the structure from the time you first hear a smoke alarm. Knowing how to use that time wisely is critical, and it takes both planning and practice.
"With the holidays right around the corner, it's more important than ever to note the fire dangers in our kitchens," Cook added. "Cooking fires peak every year in the months of November and December as more families prepare holiday meals, and the risk really cannot be overstated: always pay attention when cooking."
To ensure that meals are prepared safely, follow these tips:
- Always stay in the kitchen while you are frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food; if you need to leave, turn off the stove.
- Do not leave your home while an oven is in operation.
- Keep anything that may catch fire, oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, etc, away from stovetops.
- Have a kid-free zone of at least 3 feet around the stove and other areas where hot foods are prepared.
- If a fire does occur, just get out!
It is also important to have a home escape plan that includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. A good plan includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place that is a safe distance from the home.
Some additional fire safety tips to keep family members safe are:
- Draw a map of your home with all members of your household, marking two exits from each room and a path to the outside from each exit.
- Practice your home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with everyone in your home, and practice using different ways out.
- Teach children how to escape on their own in case adults are not able to help them.
- Make sure your house number is clearly marked and easy for the fire department to find.
- Close doors behind you as you leave — this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.
- Never go back inside a burning building. Once outside, stay outside.
For additional information on fire safety, including seasonal fire safety tips, visit the Office of the State Fire Commissioner online at, www.osfc.pa.gov.
MEDIA CONTACT: L. Paul Vezzetti – lvezzetti@pa.gov