Prevent Cooking Fires: Watch What You Heat

That's the message of this year's Fire Prevention Week. 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.

Cool in the kitchen

• Kids and pets should stay at least 3 feet away from the stove when food is cooking. If you are too close to the stove, you could be burned if something hot is spilled.
• A grown-up watches the stovetop when he or she is frying, grilling, or boiling food.
• Grown-ups always pay attention to the things that are cooking.
• Things that can burn, dish towels, curtains, or paper, are at least 3 feet away from the stove.
• Pot holders or oven mitts are easy for grown-ups t each when they are cooking.
• If someone gets burned, put cool water on the burn for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Pot handles are turned in toward the back of the stove wehn a grown-up is cooking.
• Microwave ovens cook food really fast. Food cooked in a microwave can get very hot. Be careful when you take the cover off food because hot steam can burn you. Let the food cool before you eat it. You should use a microwave oven only if a grown-up says it is okay.

Everybody out!

• Does your family have a home fire escape plan? If not, make one today, it's easy! Start by walking through your home and identifying two ways out of every room. (One way out might be the door; the other could be a window). Then draw out your escape plan, so you can post it where everyone in the family can see it.
• Clean up your room! Make sure that doors, stairways and other exits out of your home are clear of toys, furniture, and other clutter.
• Does someone in your home need help getting around (like a grandparent, or an infant)? A grown- up should make sure that they have someone to assist them in case of a fire. Be sure to assign a backup person in case the assistant isn't home.
• Pick an outside meeting place where everyone can gather after they've escaped safely (a neighbor's house, a mailbox, or even a tree will do). Make sure that you mark the spot you've picked on your escape plan.
• Memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department (9-1-1). Remind everyone that they should get out first, then call for help from outside, or at a neighbor's home.
• Be ready for the real thing. Put your escape plan to the test with a fire drill at least twice a year. That way if a real fire ever happens, everyone in the family will know what to do.
• Always choose the escape route that is safest: Practive crawling low under smoke in case you must go through it to get out. Smoke is nasty stuff - even worse than fire itself. To keep from breathing it in, crawl low under the smoke on your hands and knees. Your head will be in a "saftey zone" of clean air about knee high.
• Close the dorr behind you. Closing the doors as you leave can slow the spread of fire and smoke.

Information on this page provided by NFPA