Oct 8th through Oct 14 marks this year’s Fire Prevention Week. Started in 1925 to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Fire Prevention Week helps teach students and the public about the dangers and risks of fire and tips on how to stay safe in case of a fire. During this week long event firefighters around the country provide lifesaving public education in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.
This year the theme for fire prevention is Cooking safety starts with YOU! Pay attention to fire prevention.
Firefighters will bring fire trucks and equipment to each kindergarten classroom and present a 30-minute special program. Each kindergarten student will receive a fire hat, first graders will get a pop-up fire truck with safety tips and 2nd and 3rd graders will receive activity books. They will also present a kitchen safety demonstration to all Kindergarten - 6th graders. During this demonstration, firefighters will have a teacher and a 6th grader put out a small fire with a fire extinguisher.
The campaign works to educate everyone about simple but important actions they can take when cooking to keep themselves and those around them safe.
“We’ll be going around all the schools and teaching using our kitchen prop,” said Fire Chief Brent Smith. “We actually have a grease fire and then show the kids some of the things we do to put that out and how dangerous it can be.”
Cooking was the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries in 2015-2019 and the second leading cause of home fire deaths. Cooking caused 49 percent of reported home fires, 20 percent of reported home fire deaths, and 42 percent of home fire injuries. In 2019, Thanksgiving was the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.
“Year after year, cooking remains the leading cause of home fires by far, accounting for half (49 percent) of all U.S. home fires,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of outreach and advocacy at the National Fire Protection Association. “These numbers tell us that there is still much work to do when it comes to better educating the public about ways to stay safe when cooking.”
The Great Bend Fire Department encourages all residents to embrace the 2023 Fire Prevention Week theme, “Cooking safety start with YOU,” Smith said. “A cooking fire can grow quickly. I have seen many homes damaged and people injured by fires that could easily have been prevented.”
The GBFD offers these key safety tips to help reduce the risk of a cooking fire.
• Watch what you heat. Always keep a close eye on what you are cooking. Set a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove.
• Always keep a lid nearby when cooking.
• If a small grease fire starts, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner.
• Have a “kid- and pet-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove or grill and anywhere else hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
For more information, contact the GBFD at 620-793-4140. For more general information about Fire Prevention Week and cooking safety, visit www.fpw.org. For fire safety fun for kids, visit sparky.org.
An historical connection
“We’ll kick off Prevention Week Sunday,” Smith said. “We’ve invited all the retirees back for lunch, starting at noon at Station 2. I feel it’s important, and some of our other guys feel it’s really important, for some of our younger members to know where we’ve come from and how we got to where we’re at.”
