October, 2008

Message From The Desk Of The Fire Chief

How often has the doorbell rung or a child interrupted you while you were cooking, causing you to forget about the chicken you left sizzling on the stove-until smoke filled the house?

If this sounds familiar, I hope you’ll read on, because you’re running the risk of having a dangerous fire. As Chief of the City of Lynn Haven Fire Department, I often talk to people about the ways they can stay safe in their homes. Too often, we have that talk after they’ve suffered a damaging fire.

It’s my hope that people reading this article won’t have to learn the hard way. If I could give just one fire warning, I’d say “stand by your pan!”

Why? Because cooking is the leading cause of home fires, according to the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Latest statistics from NFPA say that one out of every three home fires started in the kitchen and more than 140,000 fires a year were related to cooking.

And guess why most of these fires occur? If you said it’s leaving cooking unattended, you got it right.

Often when we’re called to a cooking-related fire, the residents tell us they only left the kitchen for a few minutes. Sadly, that’s all it takes to go from routine to disaster.

The bottom line is that there’s really no safe period of time for the cook to step away from a hot stove.

THIS IS FIRE PREVENTION MONTH!

E-Mail:
FireChief@cityoflynnhaven.com