FYI

Fire Safety 101

From prevention to your rst moves when disaster strikes, a re chief weighs in to help you prepare.

Have you given any thought to the most common reason for house and apartment res?

According to Benny Fulkerson, Battalion Chief of the Oklahoma City Fire Department, the answer might surprise you.

“In Oklahoma City, there are numerous reasons why structure res happen, but unattended cooking is among the leading causes for these incidents,” he says. “We always remind people to ‘keep an eye on what you fry.’ In other words, stay in the kitchen and keep a close eye on your cooking until you are completely nished and the heat is turned o .”

Fulkerson notes that turning your back on your cooking could result in the grease catching re. And if you nd yourself facing this terrifying situation, never pour water on a grease re.

“Water causes a grease re to react violently and will make the re much worse, and [that] can certainly cause injuries,” he says. “Likewise, never put our on a grease re. Simply sliding a lid over the skillet and then turning o the heat is the cleanest, fastest and most e cient way to extinguish a re in a skillet.”

He also advises against attempting to carry the burning skillet outside. In doing so, the hot pan may be dropped, running the risk of a personal injury and allowing the re to spread.

Fulkerson says the OKC Fire Department responds to approximately 92,000 emergency calls annually, with some 700 to 800 of those runs being structure res.

“We also see structure res commonly start due to improperly discarded cigarettes,” he says. “It is not uncommon for a cigarette to be dropped into bedding or onto cushions of furniture, which can then start a re which could quickly spread to other areas of the home.” ink it’s OK to discard a lighted cigarette into a ower bed or on a deck? ink again.

Fulkerson advises that cigarettes can easily ignite mulch and vegetation in ower beds and also the wooden decks themselves.

“ e key here is to be prepared,” he says. “Having working smoke alarms is one of the most important things people can do.”

What To Do in the Event of a Fire

“ e very rst thing you should do is get out,” he says. “Everyone in the home should participate in periodic exit drills in the home and should know how to escape the home, and where the pre-established meeting place is located. Everyone should know two ways out of every room.”

IMPORTANT TIPS:

• Feel doors with the back of your hand. If the door is hot, fire is on the other side. • Close doors behind you to compartmentalize the fire and smoke. • Call 911 from outside of the burning home. • Be prepared to tell firefighters where the fire was located and if anyone, or pets, are still inside.