Each year, Delta Fire and Emergency Services teams up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to educate the public about essential fire prevention safety measures. This year, their fire prevention campaign will focus on cooking safety and ways to reduce fire risks while cooking at home during Fire Prevention Week Oct. 8 to 14.
According to NFPA’s data, cooking is the primary cause of home fires, accounting for 49 per cent of all home fires involving cooking equipment.
Unattended cooking emerged as the leading cause of cooking fires and subsequent casualties. The data indicates that more than one-quarter of individuals killed by cooking fires were asleep at the time.
Additionally, over half of the non-fatal injuries occurred when attempting to control the fire without proper procedures.
Combustible materials, such as wrappers, potholders or clothing left near hot cooking equipment, are the second leading cause of home cooking fires.
While clothing is a rare initial ignition source, it has led to eight per cent of all home cooking fire fatalities. One particular concern is that nearly two-thirds of these victims were 75 or older, highlighting the vulnerability of older individuals in cooking fire incidents.
Other notable facts include that ranges or cooktops are involved in 61 per cent of reported home cooking fires and accounted for 87 per cent of cooking fire-related deaths and 78 per cent of cooking fire injuries. Households that use electric ranges have a higher risk of cooking fires and associated losses than those that use gas ranges.
The Delta Fire Department encourages everyone to embrace this year’s theme.
Deputy Chief David Wood expressed that cooking fires can grow quickly, and many homes damaged and injuries caused by fire could have been preventable.
“When it comes to a kitchen fire, if cooking with oil, it can get superheated and then ignite,” Wood said. “Now you’ve got a grease fire, and most people don’t have the right extinguisher in their kitchen to put out a grease fire.”
Wood provided several tips, such as close monitoring of cooking, especially foods with longer cook times, maintaining a clear cooking area, turning pot handles away from the stove’s edge, and sliding a lid over the grease, which can limit the oxygen and extinguish the fire.
For more information and tips about Fire Prevention Week and cooking safety, please visit www.fpw.org. For fire safety fun for kids, visit sparky.org.
