Fire Prevention Week Theme for 2006 is “Prevent Cooking Fires: Watch What You Heat!”

Kipling Fire Department Invites Residents To Attend Our Fire Department’s FIRE PREVENTION WEEK 2006 OPEN HOUSE, Wednesday, October 12, 2006. The Open House will include the following:

• Practice your Fire Escape Plan

• Attend Fire Prevention Week 2006 Open House, where visitors can learn about this year’s FPW theme, “Preventing cooking fires: Watch what you heat!” It highlights a growing home fire concern. It is a memorable and effective safety massage.

• Receive fire safety information!

Fire Siren will sound at 6:30 p.m. to signal you to practice your Escape Plan. Open House to follow. Tour Fire Hall and meet members of the Fire Department!

HOME FIRE ESCAPE PLAN CAN PREVENT TRAGEDY

Most fire victims never even see flames.They die from smoke inhalation.

PLANNING AND PRACTICING A HOME FIRE PREVENTION AND ESCAPE PLAN CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

In order to react fast to fire, you should draw a diagram of your house and plan your escape from each room, to familiarize yourself with it. However, since the majority of fire deaths occur while you are sleeping, you should practice your plan at night as well, get down on your hands and knees with a flash light and crawl to safety.

KILLING FORCE OF FIRE

•The smoke is black, and very thick, it is impossible to see.

•You have no time for indecision, an entire house can be completely involved in five minutes.

•Most people are killed by smoke inhalation not the flame of the fire.

•The heat of the fire is extremely intense and can kill you instantly.Statistics show that 78 percent of deaths from fire occur in the home and most of these fatal fires occur between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. when occupants are sleeping.

CREATE YOUR PERSONAL ESCAPE PLAN, DO THE FOLLOWING:

•Install smoke alarms on every level - outside the bedroom, near the kitchen and garage. Keep clean and dust-free. Check smoke alarms monthly. (Some fire departments and manufacturers say weekly.) Replace batteries yearly and alarms every 10 years.

•Draw a floor plan of all levels of your home with normal and emergency exits including two from each bedroom. Designate a safe meeting place outside and someone to call 911 from a neighbour’s home.

•Practice the plan, including crawling out with eyes closed (heavy smoke impairs breathing and sight; staying close to the floor increases chances of escape). If needed practice using escape ladders.

•Small children unable to escape can learn to open their windows and wave an article of clothing to attract attention. Instruct them to wait at the window until someone comes and to never hide from the fire. Discuss with a fire department official whether an escape ladder would be appropriate.

•Sleep with doors closed. If children are frightened, parents can close doors after the children fall asleep and use a room monitor to hear them in the night.

•If awakened by a smoke alarm or a fire, instruct family members to feel the door for heat and check air at bottom. If you don’t smell smoke and the air is cool, kneel and open the door slowly, turning your face away from the opening. If smoke is present or the door is hot, use another exit.

•Purchase an A-B-C fire extinguisher and learn how to use it by remembering the acronym PASS. PULL the pin, AIM the extinguisher, SQUEEZE or press the handle, SWEEP side to side at the base of the fire. (The rating is based on the fuel. A is a wood or paper fire; B is caused by flammable liquids; C is an electrical fire.)

COOKING IS THE #1 CAUSE OF HOME FIRES

Cooking oil and grease fires are the major cause of residential fires in Canada. Kitchen fires, due to cooking oil or grease catching fire, cause the fastest-spreading destruction of any kind of residential fire. When cooking with grease or oil it is extremely important that you plan ahead so that you will know to React Fast to Fire. Always use common sense when preparing food.

DEEP FRYING

• The safest way to deep fry foods such as chicken or fries is to use is a thermostatically-controlled electric skillet or a deep fat fryer.

PAN FRYING• Keep a pan lid or cookie sheet handy in case the grease or oil catches fire. The lid or pan can be slid over the top of the pan to smother the fire.

• Never attempt to move a flaming pot or pan away from the stove. The movement can fan the flames and spread the fire, and the pan will likely be very hot causing you to drop it. In both cases, you are placing yourself at great risk. Your immediate actions should be to smother the fire by sliding a lid or flat cookie sheet over the pan. Then turn off the heat and exhaust fan and allow the pan to cool. Most importantly, you must know when to go and react fast to this type of fire because grease fires spread very quickly.

OVEN COOKING

• Keep oven clean. Grease and food splatters can ignite at high temperatures.

• Ensure that you wear oven mitts when removing cooking containers to avoid serious burns.

• Follow the oven cooking instructions for the recipe or product you are using.

• Broiling is a popular method of cooking. When you use your broiler, place the rack 5 to 8 cm (two to three inches) from the broiler element. Always place a drip pan beneath the broiler rack to catch the fat drippings. Never use aluminum foil for this purpose - the fat gathered in the foil could catch fire or spill over.

MICROWAVE COOKING

Microwave ovens are a marvelous time saving tool, but there are three characteristics of microwave cooking you should remember:

• The heat is reflected by the metal interior,

• Heat can pass through glass, plastic and other materials, and;

• Heat is absorbed by the food.

Foods, like those with high fat or sugar content, may heat very rapidly but feel cool to touch. Pastry fillings can be very hot but the crust cooler. Milk in baby bottles could be boiling but the bottle not hot to touch. Use caution at all times.

Do not use tin foil or any other metal objects in the microwave. If a fire occurs, keep the door closed and unplug the unit. Call a qualified maintenance person to ensure it is in proper working order before using the microwave again.