With people getting busy in their kitchens over the upcoming holiday season, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is making “Cooking safety starts with YOU! Pay attention to fire prevention,” their official theme for this year's Fire Prevention Week from Oct. 8 to Oct. 14..
“As adults in the kitchen, we [know we shouldn’t] leave food on unattended, but then we quickly need to grab this [or that] and a few seconds later we get distracted,” said Sue McFarlane, a spokesperson for the Crossfield Fire Department. “If you put an oven mitt under your arm, then you don't forget that you have something on the stove… And you'll come right back.”
McFarlane said the fire department always reminds everyone to check their smoke detectors and change the batteries regularly.
McFarlane said the biggest mistake people make in the kitchen is leaving the stove unattended and getting distracted.
A big part of Fire Prevention Week in Crossfield is also going to schools to teach kids through presentations and demonstrations.
This year’s national theme is catered more towards adults in the kitchen, but McFarlane said it’s important to teach kids about a no-play zone of three feet around any cooking or food preparation area, or staying out of the kitchen completely.
“We teach adults to keep the pot handles turned [toward the back of the stove], but we can't teach kids to turn in the handles,” she said. “With kids, it's just mostly don't play in the kitchen”
For grades three to five, later this month, the Crossfield fire department plans to demonstrate how smoke moves through a house using a dollhouse made by one of its captains.
“It will show how the smoke goes through the corridors, up the stairway, into bedrooms if the doors are open, and how the smoke moves when the doors are closed,” McFarlane said.
McFarlane will also be doing a local story hour during Fire Prevention Week and having the kids participate in designing a fire escape plan. The designs will be entered for a draw.
The grand prize for grades three to five is a ride to school in the fire truck, which will be the first fire truck ride to school since 2019.
“We just do a lap around town with the sirens going and we pull up in front of the school, and the teachers take pictures,” she said, adding that the kids love it.
Fire Prevention Week is celebrated annually in October throughout North America, and is the oldest public health observance on record in the United States, according to an NFPA press release.
Their data shows cooking is the leading cause of home fires with 49 per cent of all home fires involving cooking equipment.
Unattended cooking is also the leading culprit of home cooking fires and related deaths, the release stated.
“These numbers tell us that more public awareness is needed around when and where cooking hazards exist, along with ways to prevent them,” said Lorraine Carli, vice-president of the Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA. “This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign will work to promote tips, guidelines, and recommendations that can help significantly reduce the risk of having a cooking fire.”
Some of the simple steps to help reduce the risk of kitchen fires include turning pot handles towards the back of the stove and keeping a lid nearby to suffocate a grease fire quickly.
A kid and pet free zone of one metre around cooking and food preparation areas is also important, as well as setting timers to remind adults if anything is cooking longer and they’re going in and out of the kitchen..
Cooking areas should always be clear of combustible items and anything that can burn, such as dish towels, oven mitts, food packaging, and paper towels. To learn more about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, visit www.fpw.org. Additional Fire Prevention Week resources for children, caregivers, and educators can be found at www.sparky.org and www.sparkyschoolhouse.org.
