Voice of the Consumer: Keep the home fires from burning
This week is Fire Prevention Week, and the American Red Cross wants to keep you safe from house fires. Cooking causes most home fires.
“Cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires in the U.S.,” said Phil Martinez, executive director of the American Red Cross of Southeastern Colorado. “Part of that is because we lose track of the stove, we veer away from the stove, and we generally have things around the stove, and that really causes the issue.”
The Red Cross has several recommendations for homeowners to follow:
“The first is to make sure you have nothing around the stove. You should be at least 3 feet away. Make sure the kids are not anywhere near it, as well. Most people have home fires because they step away from the stove, they step away from the fire and next thing you know, you’ve got a burning inferno,” said Martinez.
“Make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand, as well. A lot of people don’t know how to handle a fire extinguisher. We recommend that you go to your fire department and get lessons on how to handle that.
“Also, make sure you don’t have things near the stove, if you have loose clothing. If you have anything on a simmer, just stay near it. We also recommend that you have a timer, as well. If you’re watching TV, or you step away for a second, you’ve got to have something that reminds you the No. 1 priority is your stove,” said Martinez.
If you need to buy or install smoke alarms, the Red Cross may be able to help.
“We have a program called ‘Sound the Alarm,’ part of our home fire campaign, where we install free smoke alarms for folks that do not have one. If you don’t have one, we encourage you to give us a call, come by our office over on Eighth Street,” said Martinez. “We’ll come by and install one for you. We have certain campaigns throughout the year where we stop by folks’ (homes) and install them absolutely for free.”
You can call the American Red Cross of Southeastern Colorado at 719-632-3563. You can find out more information at RedCross.org/homefires.
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Finally, I wanted to let you know about an event taking place this week. The Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado is hosting the 29th annual “A Night of Excellence.” It’s taking place 4-7:30 p.m. Thursday at Flying W Ranch. You can find more information and purchase tickets at anightofexcellence.org. I will be the emcee of the event, so I hope to see you there!