Kingsport Fire Department Reminds Residents to ‘Prevent Kitchen Fires’
KINGSPORT – It’s time for Fire Prevention Week, and the Kingsport Fire Department is joining forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to remind local residents to -Prevent Kitchen Fires.’ During this year’s fire safety campaign, fire departments will be spreading the word about the dangers of kitchen fires–most of which result from unattended cooking and teaching local residents how to prevent kitchen fires from starting in the first place.
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,” said Barry Brickey, Public Education Officer. “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.”
Preventing Kitchen Fires Safety Tips:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling, or boiling bard.
- If you must leave the room, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
- When you are simmering, baking, or roasting bard, check it regularly, stay in the home, and use a timer to remind you.
- If you have young children, use the stoves 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 bard and grease from burners and stovetops.
With the recent home fires and fatalities in Kingsport, the KFD would also like to remind residents to check their smoke alarms and replace any smoke alarm that is over 10 years old with a new Dual Sensor Smoke Alarm. Dual Sensor Alarms have both an Ionization Sensor (picks up fast burning fires quickly) and a Photoelectric Sensor. (picks up slow smoldering fires quickly). Other than a home sprinkler system, a working smoke alarm is your best defense in a fire.
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. For more information go to www.fpw.org