According to statistics, cooking is the leading cause of most house fires.
That’s why, especially during this Thanksgiving long weekend, Cariboo Fire Departments want to remind you to be safe when preparing your feast.
100 Mile Fire Rescue Chief Roger Hollander says never leave your cooking unattended, to stay within the kitchen, and always make sure that the oven and burners are turned off.
He also noted it’s important to have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and to have it visibly placed should you need it in an emergency.
“Quite often we put them in underneath sink behind all those products and it’s to get to in emergencies. So have it somewhere where it’s located on the cupboard, somewhere it’s mounted and visible to all family members so that they can address a small fire if it were to happen.”
Hollander added, to call 9-1-1 early.
“Certainly in the Cariboo areas, there are a lot of Volunteer and some paid on-call Departments and that means it does take some time for the volunteers to get to the fire department and to get into their gear, to get into their apparatus, and then drive time to the emergency so the sooner that someone does have a fire, even if it’s a small one, to call 9-1-1 early.”
Hollander says often there is residual smoke in the home and that its important to know that the Fire Department with fans and other techniques, can get rid of that smoke which is harmful for occupants.