All the hours spent in the kitchen over the Thanksgiving holiday result in amazing meals. Unfortunately, that increased activity also raises the chances of residential home fires, according to data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The organization said that the Thanksgiving holiday sees three times the nation’s daily average in emergency fire accidents. Not to mention, research shows that fires started in the kitchen are the top reason for home blazes and associated injuries. Fire departments throughout the country replied to a median of almost 156,000 fires stemming from cooking accidents, which caused 390 deaths and 4,800 injuries, as well as $771 million in property damages. With all this in mind, follow a few simple fire prevention safety steps offered by the NFPA which are outlined below:
- Do not allow items near the stove or oven that may catch fire, including cloth mitts, wood apparatus, and any kind of packaging. Other potential fire conductors to watch out for are rags or towels, aprons, clothes, or even drapes.
- Do not leave the stove or oven unattended, even for a minute. Always turn the heat off when leaving the room. Many treacherous fires start after an oven or stove is left unsupervised for a very short amount of time.
- Always utilize timers to stay on top of cooking schedules and to avoid burning incidents that can result in fires.
If you do encounter a small fire in a pan or oven, immediately cover it with a metal or glass lid and turn the heat off. If it does not extinguish after 30 seconds or so, call the fire department for assistance. Have you or a family member been injured in a Tennessee fire that you think was caused by another party’s negligence? Call the Chattanooga burn injury lawyers attorneys with Massey & Associates, P.C. at (423) 396-0720 for a complimentary consultation.
Gary Massey, Jr., is a well-known courtroom advocate practicing law in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Gary is a native of Tennessee who began practicing law in 1998. He graduated from Cumberland School of Law where he was ranked in the top 3% of his class and was an editor of the Cumberland Law Review.
