Fire Safety
Fire Safety During the Holidays
Holiday Cooking and Fire Safety
Cold weather, and holidays, bring increased risk of fire. In fact, Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment. That makes safety in the kitchen very important, especially when children are at home.
Holiday Cooking
Facts:
- Children and older adults face a higher risk of death from cooking fires than anyone else.
- Make sure children are kept at least 3 feet away from stoves and any other equipment that can become hot and they should be kept away from hot food and liquids. Children can be easily and seriously burned if they're not supervised.
- If you choose to deep fry a turkey, the same rules apply about keeping children and pets well away.
- Deep fryers should be used very carefully according to directions. Keep in mind you're heating oil to high temps over an open flame, and splashed oil can cause extremely serious burns.
Fire Safety
- Have a fire escape plan. Every family member should know at least two ways out of each room, and know to get out of the house whenever the smoke alarm sounds. Decide ahead of time on where to meet once everyone is out, and NEVER call 911 from a burning house unless you are trapped inside.
- Working smoke alarms save lives! Having working smoke alarms in your home can give you advance warning if there's a fire. If your alarm sounds, take it seriously. You only have a few minutes to escape a house fire.
- If you haven't changed the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms yet this year, now is a good time.
- Remember: Taking just a little time for fire prevention during the holidays can go a long ways towards saving your family's lives!
Learn More
Take the time to learn more about how you can prevent fires in the home.
- West Virginia Fire Safety Resource e-Guide, provided by the WV Fire Marshal's office
- Online Fire Safety class on this Web site
And visit the following websites:
For more information, contact:
Carol Nolte
WV State Fire Marshal's Office
Phone: (304) 558-2191, Ext. 53223
E-Mail: Carol.E.Nolte@wv.gov
