By Gordon Williams, Northwest Region Volunteer

The holiday season can bring merriment and good times. But it can also bring danger and sometimes it can even bring tragedy.

Christmas is one of the worst days of the year for home fires that begin in the kitchen. Because we spend so much time in the kitchen dicing and slicing, it is also a very bad day for self-inflicted knife wounds. The way to stay safe over the holidays is to heed advice on fire prevention from the American Red Cross and the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA). 

NFPA is a non-profit, organized in 1896 to reduce death, injury and loss from fires. It sums up its kitchen fire prevention advice with these three rules:

1. Keep an eye on what you are cooking. Never leave cooking unattended.
2. Keep anything that can catch fire like oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains, at least three feet from the stovetop.
3. Be on alert. If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t cook.

Don’t wear a robe with puffy sleeves while you are cooking. They can dip into a flame and ignite. Don’t cook while wearing loose-fitting slippers or shoes with soles that can slide. That will prevent you from skidding on floors that might be slippery from cooking spills. Keep kids and pets out of the kitchen while you are cooking. If kids do come into the kitchen, looking for a holiday treat, keep them at least three feet away from any cooking surface. Avoid the temptation to sip a bit of wine while cooking. You want your wits about you while hot things are in the stove.

Cooking while distracted or distant is the greatest danger. It’s all too easy to take a phone call while cooking or going to the door to greet a guest. You get caught up in something else and forget about the pan cooking on the stove. Grease spills out of the pan and you aren't around to watch a small flame become a fully-involved fire. The catch-phrase is “look while you cook.”

Know what to do if something does catch fire. Never pour water over a grease fire. Burning oil can float on the water, spreading the fire.

If there is a fire, immediately turn off the burner. Then take a pot lid or a cookie pan and slide it slowly over the burning pot. Slamming the lid down can cause the flames to shoot out, spreading the fire. Just slide the pan until the cooking utensil is totally covered. Keep a cookie pan or large pot cover at hand when you start your cooking just to be super-safe.

You can keep a fire extinguisher at the ready in the kitchen, if you know how to use it. The main purpose of an extinguisher is not to fight fires but to help you escape from a burning room. Don’t tackle a fire that is bigger than the size of a waste basket. Fires double in size every 30 seconds. What was a small fire two minutes ago can mushroom into a significant blaze.

Make sure the fire department has been called before you tackle the fire. When you do tackle it aim the stream from the extinguisher at the base of the fire, sweeping the stream back and forth. Never let the fire get between you and an exit. Ideally have a second person making sure your escape route is still open, while you fight the fire. If there is any risk of your escape route being cut off, drop the extinguisher and get out. If you exhaust the extinguisher and the fire is still burning, get out and leave the job to the professionals.

Finally a few holiday safety tips from the Red Cross. Make sure holiday light cords aren’t frayed or broken. Make sure all outdoor lights are insulated and firmly fastened so a storm doesn’t loosen them and create potential shorts. Make sure the tree is kept well watered and safely away from any source of heat or flame. Turn off all holiday lights when you go to sleep. Never leave candles burning when you leave the room. Make sure fireplace fires are dark and cold before you head to bed. Have a safe and happy holiday!