Large and small skillets (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
THE END OF THIS STORY CONTAINS SOME GOOD FIRE PREVENTION TIPS WE SHOULD ALL BE REMINDED OF. THANKS TO THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR SHARING THIS EXAMPLE OF WHY SUCH STEPS ARE SO IMPORTANT.
WHAT: Apartment Fire with Victim Transport
WHEN: The Houston Fire Department was dispatched to the fire just after 12:30 a.m. this morning, June 10, 2013.
WHERE: 2475 Underwood
INJURIES: One resident was transported to the hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.
DAMAGE: The apartment suffered from about $4 thousand in estimated damage.
CAUSE: The cause of the fire was determined to be a cooking fire in the kitchen.
DETAILS: Firefighters arrived on scene to find smoke coming from the 3-story apartment building with a report of a possible person trapped. The crew of Engine 37 and Ladder 33 located a victim in a wheelchair and helped to remove her from the apartment. She was treated on scene and transported to the hospital. Crews extinguished a small fire in the kitchen area and tapped out the fire just before 1:30 a.m. Approximately 60 firefighters responded to the incident.
HFD reminds residents that cooking is the number one cause of residential fires and is preventable by following these safety tips:
• Always, have a working smoke detector!
• Over half the people attempting to extinguish a kitchen fire are injured. Often the best advice is to get everyone out of the house and call the fire department (911) from a neighbor’s house.
• Use a moderate cooking temperature
• Don’t overfill the container
• If you must leave the kitchen, turn the burner off (Unattended cooking is the primary cause of kitchen fires. Over half of these are grease/oil fires.)
• Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove. Curious children may reach up and grab the handle, pulling the hot contents down on themselves.
• Don’t position handles over another burner, it may catch on fire or burn someone who touches it.
• Wear short sleeves or tight fitting long sleeves when cooking to reduce a clothing fire hazard.
• Shield yourself from scalding steam when lifting lids from hot pans.
• Make sure pot holders are not too close to the stove. They could catch fire!
• Keep ovens, broilers, stove tops, and exhaust ducts free from grease.
• If there is a fire in the oven – Turn off the oven and keep the oven door closed.
• Never try to move the pan, don’t throw water on it, and don’t put flour on it.
• If you attempt to extinguish the fire, it is best to use a class ABC multipurpose fire extinguisher. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions – stay back 6 to 8 feet and be careful not to spray the grease out of the pan. Baking soda can also smother the fire. Fires can double in size every 30 seconds.
Related articles
- Last Call 5-31-2013: Houston Fire Department Mourns Four of Its Own (onguard4america.wordpress.com)
- HFD: Resident fell asleep while cooking, sparking apartment fire (khou.com)
- Grease fire prompts brief evacuation of OP apartments (fox4kc.com)
- Resident forced to jump from 3rd floor in apartment fire (q13fox.com)
- Hundreds evacuated, several units destroyed by inner Brisbane apartment building blaze (abc.net.au)
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