There are many different kinds of house fires which include electrical, cooking/grease, smoke, candles left on, kids playing with matches/lighters, etc. They are ALL preventable. Grease fires are not only dangerous and scary, (as they all are) but also very common. Cooking is the leading cause of residential fires and fire injuries (according to CDC; Ahrens 2010) Most cooking fires are caused by people, and not appliance failures. The main causes of cooking fires include: leaving burners or ovens on after cooking, leaving food cooking on the stovetop unattended; often causing a grease fire, placing combustible materials too close to heat sources, and so forth. You get the picture. I was reading about house & grease fires on the CDC website and it stated that on average in the United States in 2009, someone died in a fire every 175 minutes, and someone was injured every 31 minutes. (Karter 2010) That’s crazy when you think about it. Some people don’t know what to do when there is a grease fire; they just react based on what most people think of when they see fire… water! As most of us know, not all fires can be put out with water; or at least not small amounts of water. We need to be extra careful when frying or deep frying foods or when cooking with oils, butter or other grease products. If a grease fire does occur in your home,
Here are some things to consider:
-Turn off the burner, if it’s safe to do so
-Put a lid on the pan or toss some baking soda on the flames
-If you can’t put out the grease fire quickly & safely, leave the house & call 911
-Do NOT pour water on the fire, and do not try to grab the burning pan.
Note that using a fire extinguisher or water on a grease fire could cause the hot oil to splatter and spread the fire; which in many cases causes serious injury/burns.
If there are children in the house, or elderly, don’t spend too much time trying to put out the fire. Get everyone out of the house & call 911. Stuff can be replaced, people can’t. What about when a fire starts up in your home while you’re sleeping? What do you depend on to alert you and your loved ones that there is a fire in your home? I’m sure you all know… a working smoke detector!! This is so important!! No matter how prepared we think we might be; we really never are. A good example, you’re neighbor’s house could be on fire, and if you have a working smoke detector, as soon as that smoke gets into your home, your detectors will go off and warn you in time; that can save your life & your home. So check your batteries regularly.
So in conclusion, just make sure you are really careful in the kitchen, and everywhere in the home. Don’t use damaged appliances, remember that water & electricity don’t mix, don’t leave irons, hair dryers, etc plugged in, don’t leave matches or lights anywhere that a child can reach or get into, do not leave candles burning while you sleep or out of the house, don’t leave combustible materials close to any type of heat source, don’t leave anything on the stove unattended, wear short or tight-fitting sleeves while cooking. You get the picture! Let me just tell you, that the people I know that have experienced house fires, never thought it would happen to them, but it did. It was very sad and in some cases physically painful & expensive.
Someone once said to me, “oh well, if it happens, I have massachusetts homeowners insurance”. My response to that was, “Insurance does not pay for everything, there is always a deductible, and insurance can’t replace pictures, memories, time, and many other things; and they can’t prevent injuries or death” so the best thing to do is not to depend on insurance but to just try the best you can to prevent a fire from even happening”. If anyone was to have the misfortune of experiencing a fire loss, insurance does help, but it does not change what happened.
-Posted by Personal Lines Representative: Elis Colon