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Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!

Fire Prevention Week 2020: October 4-10

 The Mississippi Mills Fire Department is urging everyone in Mississippi Mills to take some simple steps to prevent kitchen fires in their home. This year’s theme of Fire Prevention Week, which runs from October 4-10, is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!™”

The theme is very timely as cooking fires continue to be the leading cause of home fires in Ontario. It focuses on the prevention of cooking fires and staying fire safe in the kitchen.

Simple steps to serve up fire safety in the kitchen include:

  • Always stay in the kitchen when cooking and turn off the stove if you must leave the kitchen.
  • Keep a proper fitting lid near the stove. If a pot of oil catches fire, slide the lid over the pot and turn off the stove. Do not move the pot. Never throw water on a burning pot.
  • Keep anything that burns - plastic utensils, dishcloths, paper towels - a safe distance from the stove.
  • Cook responsibly. To prevent cooking fires, you must be alert. You will not be alert if you have consumed alcohol or drugs.
  • Wear tight-fitting or rolled up sleeves when using the stove. Loose, dangling clothing can easily catch fire.
  • Keep young kids one metre away from the stove. Turn pot handles away from the stove’s edge so they can’t be easily knocked off.
  • If you burn yourself while cooking, run cool water over the wound for three to five minutes. If the burn is severe, seek medical attention.

QUOTES

“Responsible cooking includes constant supervision and the ability to act quickly when something goes wrong.  Protect yourself and your family from fire by always being alert and stay in the kitchen while cooking.  Cooking fires are a primary source of residential fires. Residents often tell us they only left the kitchen for a few minutes. But that's all it takes for a dangerous fire to start. Help keep our community safe by preventing fires from starting in the kitchen.”

— Fire Chief Chad Brown

 For more information, please contact the Mississippi Mills Fire Department at 613-256-1589