According to the National Fire Protection Association, forty-four percent of house structure fires begin in the kitchen. As we head into the holiday season and winter months, Monmouth Fire Assistant Chief Craig Cozadd offers these tips to keep your family safe when it comes to cooking, decorating, and heating your home:
“If you are cooking on the stove or in the oven, make sure you stay with it and don’t leave. As far as the turkey fryers, make sure you are using them outside, not inside, that they are away from any structures, don’t overfill the oil, and don’t have the turkey frozen. Space heaters, they are made to be plugged in directly into the wall, not into any power strips or extension cords. They are also only supposed to be used as a stationary heater for when you are that area. We don’t want people heating their houses with them and also if you leave them unattended, that is when bad things happen. With Christmas trees, real trees aren’t as common, but if you are using a real tree, water it daily. Carbon monoxide is another problem this time of the year, make sure you have carbon monoxide detectors on all levels of your house, within fifteen feet of sleeping areas.”
Meanwhile, the Monmouth Fire Department has two new firefighters joining the team, Lucas Potter and Schuyler Melton.
