Kitchen fire prevention

“Fires grow very quickly they can double in size every minute”, says Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert.

Every week the Yuma fire Department says they respond to about two calls related to kitchen fires, there have been three cases within the last few days, perhaps not surprising as cooking fires are the most common cause of house fires according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

“The number one place is the top of the stove and the number one reason is unattended cooking”, said Erfert.
National Fire Prevention week began on October 9th and the Yuma Fire Department is urging residents to understand how these common yet dangerous fires start and how to prevent them, especially in the coming months.

“The majority of these fires happen during the holidays when more people are cooking at home and there are more distractions out their”, said Erfert.

And those distractions can be fatal.

“I know we have had cooking related deaths here within the last few years one of the worst situations I can imagine is someone cooking something late at night then falls asleep”, said Erfert.

But what can you do to stay safe?

watch what you eat and never leave food heating unattended…if your smoke alarm is older then 10 years you should be replacing it”, said Erfert.

And if your home does catch on fire…

“Get out and stay out, have an exit plan once everybody is out make sure the fire departments called”, said Erfert.

The Yuma Fire Department will be holding a safety demonstration on Saturday from 9 a.m. till noon. It will be held at the Public Safety Training Facility 3575 S. Avenue 4E.