Written by: Noah Palmer

The first week of October is National Fire Prevention Week, which is a time to consider ways to prevent fires, especially regarding homes. While most people consider fire prevention in the summer,  it is important to prevent fires all around the year! By acknowledging common starts to home fires to how to respond, preventing these structures from catching ablaze can save lives. Across the nation, cooking at home is the number one cause of residential fires at 46%, followed by other alarming risks that lead to injuries and death.

Cooking can easily spread heat and flames. For example, oil catching fire on the stove. Not knowing how to act in these situations can lead to personal injury and burn the building to a crisp at the same time. These fires could ignite when leaving something that is being deep-fried unattended, likewise with other foods in the kitchen. The oil on the stove boils, reaches a high enough temperature to ignite at 450 degrees, and bursts into flames. While water usually does a good job at putting out fires, grease fires will teach you otherwise. By far, the most dangerous part is when water is added to the mix. Water on a grease fire is like squeezing lemon juice on an open wound; It is a lesson only learned once. Contrary to water, smothering the fire has seen vastly different results. Cover the fire with a lid, or something solid, enough to choke the fire enough to die. Doing this restricts the fire from breathing oxygen, which is needed for fire to be present. Taking oxygen out of a grease fire is much more effective than water.

Common causes of any kitchen or cooking-related fire are simple: Leaving food unattended or being distracted while cooking leads to more problems than just residential fires. Distraction is always dangerous, regardless of the situation. Even with years of cooking experience, nobody is immune to fires. Even when not on the grill, leaving food unattended is a dangerous move. Leaving food in the oven is normal, but always be sure to check in, or a fire is sure to begin. 

However, sometimes fire is inevitable where it is out of anybody's hands. Having a type ABC fire extinguisher near a kitchen sounds like an ideal thing when your stove looks like it just came out of the sun. Of course, sometimes running to the fire extinguisher is not always the best idea. If fire is out of control, then simply leave the building. 

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 89% of civilian fatalities in residential fires are due to smoke inhalation and thermal burns. In a fire, heat rises. The sheer amount of heat and smoke produced by the fire is sure to kill quicker than even a single flame can touch. Because of this, professionals tell civilians to leave a burning building immediately and to never go back inside. If there is smoke inside and it is hard to see, then drop on the floor where the cool air and oxygen like to hang out. Dropping to the ground and crawling, which makes it easy to stay low, is a safe way to navigate the burning building. 

While in this retreat, be sure to know where the fire is. Feeling doors and looking for unusual patterns is the best way to accomplish this, aside from seeing the fire. When feeling doors, detect if the door is hot. If it is, fire may be behind it, making it impassable. If not, try the door and continue to stay low. Alert anybody that is threatened by the fire to get out as well. Returning to the building is a mistake only made once, especially once fire conditions worsen. If lucky, closing the door before leaving the building can prevent fire spread by limiting the flow of oxygen to the fire. Plus, the fire has to burn through a door to get to the next room before torching it, further increasing its effectiveness. 

Then, once in a safe place, call 911 and remain calm. Once outside the structure, never re-enter it, as the fire conditions have worsened. If somebody is trapped, make responders aware immediately. The last thing firefighters want to worry about is somebody running back inside a blazing home. 

A way to know if everybody is out is simple, as in a typical residence with a family, escaping a place that everybody knows to evacuate to. Planning and practicing before an incident like this is also a good idea as it can correct any mistakes that could occur in a much harder environment to get out of. Especially if a family member is missing, a plan to not only evacuate the residence but find an evacuation point is easy, yet critical.

Ultimately, cooking while distracted is sure to sooner or later become a humbling mistake. Know what you are cooking with, literally and metaphorically. Making decent decisions and taking right precautions can, and will, save lives.