Fire Officials Encourage Barrow Residents to Discuss Fire Safety and Prevention

Next week, fire departments across the country will observe Fire Prevention Week.

“We are urging everyone in Barrow County to take time to discuss fire safety and prevention,” said Lt. Scott Dakin in a released statement. “We urge you to develop and practice a home escape plan, have working smoke alarms, and take safety steps to prevent a fire from happening in your home.”    

The two best ways of preventing fire-related injuries and fatalities, according to Dakin, is to prevent fires from happening and to have an early warning system in place in case a fire does occur.

Working fire alarms more than double chances of surviving a fire, Dakin advised.

The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week is "Prevent Kitchen Fires." Cooking is a leading cause of home fires according to the latest National Fire Protection Association research.

"Often when we're called to a fire that started in the kitchen, the residents tell us that they only left the kitchen for a few minutes," said Lieutenant Dakin. "Sadly, that's all it takes for a dangerous fire to start. We hope that Fire Prevention Week will help us reach folks in the community before they've suffered a damaging lesson."

Firefighters offer the following tips for preventing kitchen fires:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling, or boiling food.
• If you must leave the room, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• When you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, stay in the home, and use a timer to remind you.
• If you have young children, use the stove’s back burners whenever possible. Keep children and pets at least three away from the stove.
• When you cook, wear clothing with tight-fitting sleeves.
• Keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper and plastic bags, towels, and anything else that can burn, away from your stovetop.
• Clean up food and grease from burners and stovetops.

Barrow County firefighters will teach fire prevention throughout the month at Barrow schools and other organizations. If you would like to schedule a firefighter to speak about fire safety and prevention, please contact Lt. Scott Dakin at 770-307-2987 or sdakin@barrowga.org.

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