(The following information was provided by the American
Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania.)
With temperatures soon expected to drop and the holidays
approach, the American Red Cross sees a big increase in the number of home
fires it responds to.
"Thanksgiving is one of the top days for home cooking fires
across the country,” said Jennifer Graham, Regional CEO for the American Red
Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania. "Help keep your family safe by always keeping
an eye on what you fry, testing your smoke alarms monthly and practicing your
two-minute escape plan with everyone in your household.”
Cooking Safety Tips
- Never leave cooking food unattended. If you must leave the
kitchen, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
- Use a timer to remind yourself that the stove or oven is on.
- Move items that can burn away from the stove. This includes
dishtowels, bags, boxes, paper and curtains. Also keep children and pets at
least three feet away.
- Avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while
cooking.
- When frying food, turn the burner off if you see smoke or if
the grease starts to boil. Carefully remove the pan from the burner.
- Keep a pan lid or a cookie sheet nearby. Use it to cover the
pan if it catches on fire. This will put out the fire. Leave the pan covered
until it is completely cooled.
- Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving home
to make sure all stoves, ovens and small appliances are turned off.
Heating equipment is the leading cause of home fire deaths,
with most occurring from space heaters. Overall, home fires account for most of
the 60,000-plus disasters that the Red Cross responds to each year across the
U.S. – where home fire responses are 30% higher during cold months than warmer
times of year.
"Colder temperatures bring the increased risk of home fires,
which are the most frequent disaster in our country,” added Graham. "Make sure
you provide at least three feet of space for all heating equipment.”
How to Safely Heat Your Home
- Keep children, pets and anything that can burn at least
three feet away from heating equipment.
- If you must use a space heater, never leave it unattended.
Place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface, such as a ceramic tile
floor. Don’t place it on rugs and carpets, or near bedding and drapes.
- Plug space heater power cords directly into outlets — never
into an extension cord. Turn the space heater off every time you leave the room
or go to sleep.
- Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.
- Never leave a fire burning in the fireplace unattended. Make
sure any embers in the fireplace are extinguished before going to bed or
leaving home. Use a glass or metal fire screen to keep embers in the fireplace.
- Have furnaces, chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves
inspected annually by a professional and cleaned if necessary.
Follow these safety tips and visit redcross.org/fire for
more information, including an escape plan to practice with your family. You
can also download the free Red Cross Emergency and First Aid apps by searching
"American Red Cross” in app stores.
