The kitchen is perhaps the most important room in the average home.
You cook there. You clean there. You eat there. You store food there. You hang out there.
Parties often end up there as the festivities start to fade into the wee hours.
You could even burn your house down there - in fact, far too many people use their kitchens to do just that (unintentionally, of course).
That's why kitchens are emphasized in the messages being disseminated by firefighters this week - National Fire Prevention Week.
Locally and across Canada, the week's theme is Prevent Kitchen Fires, and the fire prevention campaign's goal is to raise awareness that more fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home.
Cooking is the main culprit in starting devastating fires that destroy homes - and lives. While millions of dollars are lost to kitchen fires every year, more than two out of three fire deaths have their roots in the kitchen.
There are hundreds of ways to start a fire in the kitchen, not to mention the many ways to spill scalding water and get burn injuries without a hint of flame being involved.
Worst are the fires that are started with untended pans of grease or cooking oil, which can erupt into flames that spread more quickly than most other sources of conflagration and have a propensity to wreak more devastation, as well.
So when you're cooking with grease or oil, it's important to be prepared for an accidental flare-up - keep a lid handy to shut down flames immediately, for instance, instead of trying to move your pot or pan from the stove (a serious no-no!). Keep your smoke detectors up to date, and don't leave cooking pots unattended on the stove.
And have a family plan for escape, in case the unthinkable happens.
- guest editorial from the Langley Advance
