Crime & Safety
What's the #1 Cause of Home Fires? Yup, Cooking
Learn how to prevent kitchen fires this Sunday, Oct. 6, as the RWC Fire Dept. kicks off Fire Prevention Week.
Two of every five home fires begin in the kitchen--more than any other place in the home, and cooking fires are the leading cause of home fire-related injuries, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Learn how to prevent kitchen fires at a special event hosted by firefighters from the Redwood City Fire Department this Sunday, Oct. 6. The event, "Kitchen Fire Prevention" will take place from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in front of Fire Station 9 located at 755 Marshall St. in downtown Redwood City.
"Often when we're called to a fire that started in the kitchen, the residents tell us that they only left the kitchen for a few minutes," said Fire Chief Skinner.
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"Sadly, that's all it takes for a dangerous fire to start. We hope that Fire Prevention Week will help us reach folks in the community before they've suffered a damaging lesson."
The event will include live fire demonstrations, fire equipment display, children inflatable play-land and other children activities, fire extinguisher training, free smoke alarm installation sign-up, and emergency & disaster preparation and information will be provided by several local, county and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations including CERT, American Red Cross, FEMA, Sheriff's Office OES, Peninsula Humane Society, San Mateo County Environmental Health, Redwood City Police Department and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.Safety tips that firefighters and safety advocates will be emphasizing include: Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking; if you must leave the room, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove; when you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, stay in the home, and use a timer; if you have young children, use the stove's back burners whenever possible, and keep children and pets at least three away from the stove.
To learn more about how to keep your family and community safe from kitchen fires, and to learn some basic tips for kitchen fire prevention, visit: www.redwoodcity.org/fire.
Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 6-12.
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