The Orange Volunteer Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association and State Farm agent Kevin Piscitelli to support Fire Prevention Week, an annual public awareness campaign in early October promoting home fire safety.
State Farm agents are delivering Fire Prevention Week toolkits to more than 2,500 fire departments across the country, including OVFD. Each toolkit includes resources for Fire Prevention Week, including brochures, magnets and posters. The fire department will be sharing these resources with schools and communities in support of the campaign.
Fire Prevention Week runs from Oct. 4 to 10. This year’s campaign, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen,” focuses on cooking fire safety. Home cooking fires represent the leading cause of all fires with nearly half – 49 percent – happening in the kitchen. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of these fires.
“The good news is that the majority of kitchen fires are highly preventable,” said Piscitelli. “These great kits will help our fire departments spread the news to always stay focused when you’re in the kitchen and never leave the kitchen unattended.”
Key messages around this year’s campaign will include: keep a close eye on what you’re cooking; never leave cooking unattended; keep anything that can catch fire, such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains, at least three feet away from your stovetop, and; be on alert – if you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week, visit fpw.org.