This is Fire Prevention Week and the focus is avoiding kitchen fires.
The theme this year is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen”.
The Dryden Fire Service traditionally holds in-person events but COVID-19 has forced members to concentrate awareness efforts online and through the media.
Deputy Chief Kent Readman says the number one cause of home fires in Ontario is unattended cooking.
Readman offers the following tips:
-Stay in the kitchen when cooking. Don’t get distracted and stay focused.
-Wear short sleeves or sleeves that can’t touch the elements.
-Keep all combustibles away from the stove top. Don’t use it for any storage just in case an element accidentally gets turned on.
-Don’t cook under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
-Be alert, be ready, be cautious when cooking.
-Keep a pot lid close to the stove when cooking so that if there is a fire you can slide the lid across and extinguish the fire.
-Keep young kids one metre away from the stove. Turn pot handles away from the stove’s edge.
Readman says Fire Prevention Week is also a great opportunity to issue some basic reminders.
“Always plan your escape route, have a way out. Check your smoke alarms monthly, replace the batteries a couple of times a year. Never go back inside a burning building.”
Unattended cooking is the leading cause of residential fires in Ontario. Do you know how to safely extinguish a pot on fire?#FirePreventionWeek2020#PutALidOnIt#StandByYourPan
Posted by City of Dryden Fire Service on Wednesday, October 7, 2020