What kind of stove do you have in your home? Did you know that the stove is the #1 fire hazard in your kitchen? I'll bet that many of you do know this important fact, but do you know why? Burners on electric stoves stay hot a lot longer than those on gas stoves. The electric burner gets so hot that even after it has been turned off, it holds so much heat that it can cause a towel, or a pot holder, or worse yet your clothes to catch fire before it cools off. Even though the gas burner does not stay as hot for as long as an electric burner, until it cools off it can be very dangerous.

Important Do's and Don'ts in the Kitchen

Do's Don'ts
  • Do have an adult with you if you are cooking in the kitchen.
  • Do keep long hair tied back when you are cooking.
  • Do make sure that, if you have a window near the stove, the curtains are tied back and will not blow near a flame or burner.
  • Do make sure that the knobs on the stove are difficult for a child to turn.
  • Do check to make sure that the "on" signal light for the burners is working.
  • Do turn pan handles to the center of the stove so that children cannot reach them and in order to keep them from being knocked off the stove.
  • Do put a non-slip mat in front of the stove to keep you from slipping and falling into a burner.
  • Do check the cords on all appliances regularly for fraying (fraying means worn because of rubbing). Exposed wires could cause sparks or short circuits.
  • Do keep matches out of the reach of children and in covered metal containers.
  • Do call your utility company IMMEDIATELY if you smell a gas odor coming from your stove.
  • Don't put towels, potholders, or dishrags near a stove burner.
  • Don't wear loose-fitting clothes when you cook, and don't reach across the top of the stove when you are cooking.
  • Don't put cookies, candy, or other treats in the cabinets above the stove. Young children may try to reach them and accidentally start the burners, start a fire, or have their clothes catch on fire.
  • Don't store spray cans near the stove.
  • Don't let small children near an open oven door. They can be burned by the heat or by falling onto the door or into the oven.
  • Don't lean against the stove to keep warm.
  • Don't use towels as potholders. They may catch on fire.
  • Don't overload an electrical outlet with several appliances or extension cords. The cords or plugs may overheat and cause a fire.
  • Don't use water to put out a grease fire. ONLY use baking soda, salt, or a tight lid. Always keep a box of baking soda near the stove.
  • Don't use radios or other small appliances (mixers, blenders) near the sink
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[Always sleep with your bedroom door closed.] [Boy calling out that he is okay.]If there is a fire, keep calm.
Don't panic.
Let your family
know you
are all right.

[Don't hide under the bed.] [Don't hide in the closet.]

Test the door
before you open
it by feeling
it with the
back of your
hand near the
top of the door.		 [Child feeling door with back of hand.]
[Child hanging onto window sill and about to drop to ground.] If the door is cool, open it carefully.
If the door is hot,
do NOT
open it.
Use the second way out: the window.

Firefighters found these children who couldn't get out by themselves. They were not hiding. [Hershey and a firefighter rescued the children.]

[Child crawling under smoke and heat.] If your room is filled with smoke, keep down close to the floor where you can breathe more easily.
NEVER
re-enter a burning building.

Assemble at the meeting place the family picked outside the house, and then call the fire department or 911. [The family is safe thanks to E.D.I.T.H.]
If you live in or are visiting family or friends who live in a high-rise apartment building, would you know what to do if there were a fire?
If the fire is in the apartment:
  • Calmly leave the apartment, closing the door behind you. Remember the keys!
  • Pull the fire alarm near the closest exit.
  • Leave the building by the stairs.

Never take the elevator during a fire!

If the fire alarm goes off:
  • Before you open the door, feel the door by using the back of your hand. If the door is hot or warm, do not open the door.
  • If the door is cool, open it just a little to check the hallway. If you see smoke, do not leave.
  • If there is no smoke in the hallway, leave and close the door. Go directly to the stairs to leave. Never use the elevator.
If the exit is blocked by smoke or fire:
  • Leave the door closed, but do not lock it.
  • To keep the smoke out, put a wet towel in the space at the bottom of the door.
  • Call your emergency number posted by the telephone, tell them your apartment number, and let them know you are trapped by smoke and fire. It is important that you listen and do what they tell you to do.
  • Stay calm and wait for someone to rescue you.
If smoke is in your apartment:
  • Stay low to the floor under the smoke.
  • Call your emergency number posted by the telephone, and let them know that you are trapped by the smoke.
  • If you have a balcony and there is no fire below it, go out.
  • If there is fire below, go to the window. DO NOT open the window, but stay near the window.
  • If there is no fire below, go to the window and open it. Stay near the open window.
  • Hang a blanket or a towel out of the window to let people know that you are there and need help.
  • Be calm and wait for someone to rescue you.
Pumper
*****
[Pumper Truck] This is the truck you see most of the time. You may see them during Fire Prevention Week when the firefighters visit many schools and community fire-safety programs. Pumper trucks are sometimes called to car accidents because the gasoline in the car's tank may leak and catch on fire. A pumper truck is about 30 feet long and holds some water, but the tanker truck holds a lot more. The tanker truck will come when there is a fire and a lot of water is needed.
Tanker
*****
This truck is about 30 feet long and holds more than 1,000 gallons of water. It is always kept filled with water. When there is a big fire, the tanker truck unloads its water in a canvas pond (a little swimming pool) that the firefighters set up. The pumper truck can pump the water from this pond so the tanker truck can leave to get more water. Sometimes there are no fire hydrants around, like in the county; so the tanker trucks will get the much needed water from ponds or even swimming pools. [tanker truck]
Ladder
*****
[ladder truck] This truck has a very long ladder on top. The ladder is about 100 feet long. At the end of the ladder is a bucket for firefighters and arson dogs like me to get to the top of a building. Ladder trucks are much longer than pumpers or tankers. A ladder truck can be 40 to 50 feet long.