Fire
Prevention Week 2006
October 8-14, 2006
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"Prevent Cooking Fires:
Watch What You Heat" — that's the message of this year's Fire Prevention
Week (FPW). From October 8-14, we'll be spreading the word that
more fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home — and
teaching families and kids how to keep cooking fires from starting in the
first place.
According to the National
Fire Protection Association:
More fires start in the kitchen than in
any other part of the home. Why is the kitchen such a danger zone? Too
often people fail to pay attention to what's cooking, and the consequences
can be far worse than burned food. Like any home fire, cooking fires spread
quickly, leaving you just minutes to escape safely. Follow these tips for
safer cooking:
Stand
by your pan!
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Most fires in the kitchen occur because cooking
is left unattended. Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling,
or broiling food.
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If you leave the kitchen for even a short
period of time, turn off the stove.
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If you are simmering, boiling, baking or roasting
food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and
use a timer to remind you that the stove or oven is on.
No
kids allowed!
-
Keep kids away from cooking areas by enforcing
a "kid-free zone" of 3 feet (1 meter) around the stove.
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When young children are in the home, use the
stove's back burners whenever possible, and turn pot handles back to reduce
the risk that pots with hot contents will be knocked over.
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Never hold a small child while cooking.
Keep
it clean!
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Keep anything that can catch fire—pot holders,
oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, towels
or curtains—away from your stove top.
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Clean up food and grease from burners and
the stovetop.
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Avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves
while cooking. Loose clothing can catch fire if it comes in contact with
a gas flame or electric burner.
Microwave
with care!
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Plug the microwave oven directly into an outlet.
Never use an extension cord for a microwave as it can overload the circuit
and cause a fire.
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Use only microwave-safe containers to heat
food.
-
Allow food to cool for a minute or more before
you remove it from the microwave.
-
Open microwaved containers slowly as hot steam
escaping from the containers can cause painful burns. Be sure to let food
and liquid cool before you eating them.
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Never use aluminum foil or metal objects in
a microwave oven. They can cause a fire or burn hazard and damage the oven.
Kitchen
fires 101
While the following tips
can help you put out a small kitchen fire, never forget how dangerous fire
can be. If you are unable to put out the fire, get out of the home and
call the fire department. When in doubt, get out!
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If you have a fire in your microwave, turn it off immediately and keep
the door closed. Never open the door until the fire is completely out.
Unplug the appliance if you can safely reach the outlet.
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Always keep an oven mitt and a lid nearby when you're cooking. If a small
grease fire starts in a pan, smother the flames by carefully sliding the
lid over the pan (make sure you are wearing the oven mitt). Turn off the
burner. To keep the fire from restarting, don't remove the lid until the
pan is completely cool.
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In case of an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed to
prevent flames from burning you or your clothing.
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Keep a fire
extinguisher in the kitchen in case of an emergency. Make sure
that you know what type of fire the extinguisher will put out and how it
works before an emergency occurs.
Install
and test smoke alarms
Because fire can grow and spread so quickly, having working smoke alarms
in your home can mean the difference between life and death. |
In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention
Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed
on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According
to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information
Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety
observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation
proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week 2006,
please visit the official NFPA website at www.firepreventionweek.org.
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