HENRICO COUNTY, Va.-- Fire Prevention Week is underway nationwide, and the theme for this year's awareness week is "Cooking Safety Starts With You."
"Nationwide 44% of all home fires start in the kitchen with the leading cause being the unattended stove," Henrico Fire Battalion Chief Doug Reynolds said. "Remove anything that's flammable or combustible away [from the stove]. Any dish towels, any boxes, move that stuff away because if a fire starts, that's just more fuel to get up into the cabinets."
As the weather cools, people may turn on their heat for the first time in several months and might also consider using portable space heaters.
"Your safest way to heat your home is with your central heating, like your furnace or boiler whatever you have," said Reynolds. "But make sure you have that inspected before you crank it up. Make sure you've got new fresh filters in there, so it'll work."
"Secondary heating devices are where people tend to have problems, and they get themselves into trouble," Reynolds said. "Make sure you have [the space heater] 36 inches from the wall, from furniture, your bed, any toys or anything like that. And never put them like in a hallway, which is going to be your exit."
Flammable items should be kept at least 12 inches away from candles, according to fire safety experts.
Another important tip for families this week is establishing a meeting place in case of a fire, and making sure everyone in the family knows that place and practices that exit plan.
"You're used to going out the front door or back door, but you always want to teach your kids that going out the window is a way out of the house," said Reynolds. "Also, it's important to have a meeting place, because we've seen repeatedly where people go out the back or into the front. If you're a mom or dad and you think your kids are still in there, you're going back in. And we've seen people who've had some bad outcomes."
While preventing a fire is the goal, if one does start inside your home, especially a small kitchen fire, Reynolds wants you to be prepared.
"A fire extinguisher is a great thing to have at the house," he said. "You want to get just like a little small 5- or 10-pound ABC fire extinguisher."
You also need to know how to use that extinguisher. The acronym “PASS," pull, aim, squeeze and spray, can help you remember the important steps.
"Every home should have a working smoke detector," Reynolds said. "That's the gold standard."
If you need a smoke alarm in your home, you can contact the Henrico County Fire Department using this link, and they will come out and install one for free.
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