Last Christmas wasn’t the safest of times for a local
family. A fire started in the oven, probably ignited by food that
spilled over onto the heating coils. Fortunately, no one was hurt,
and the fire was contained by keeping the oven door closed. But the
smoke that poured from the oven spread ash throughout the house.
Their insurance company sent in a cleaning crew that took almost
three days to finish the job. The oven is not salvageable, and some
furniture will have to be reupholstered.
This fire was relatively small. But Chief Steven Westermann,
president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, says
that the incident has lessons for us all...
Have an escape plan for fires. If you don’t
already have one, the City of Phoenix has a good guide on its Web
site,
http://phoenix.gov/FIRE/escfire.html.
Get everyone out of the house immediately if a kitchen fire
spreads beyond a pot or pan. Do not try to extinguish the
fire.
Call 911 even if a fire seems minor. A fire
can double in size every minute and may take only three or four
minutes to spread throughout a house.
Know where your fire extinguisher is -- and
how to work it. This sounds obvious, but many people forget after
not having to use it for many years. Instructions are clearly
marked. Review them regularly so that you won’t need the reminder
in case of a fire.
Contain flames. When using the oven, put
cookie sheets under the bakeware so that spills stay off of the
heating elements. If something starts flaming, turn off the oven
and keep the oven door closed.
Most kitchen fires start on top of the stove, especially when
frying in fat. If a grease fire occurs, immediately cover the pan
with a lid to shut off the oxygen supply. It’s old advice to never
leave the stove unattended when a burner is on, yet far too many
people still do -- while simmering soups or stews, for
example.
Install smoke alarms on every level of your home
-- typically, at the top and bottom of staircases.
Replace batteries annually. A sprinkler system is highly
recommended. If you are building a new house, have a sprinkler
system installed at the start.
Unfortunately, a home owner’s problems usually don’t end once the
fire is out. "Clean up is tricky," says Peter Duncanson, director
of training and technical support for disaster restoration at
ServiceMaster Clean (
www.servicemasterclean.com).
"Wiping up ashes with a wet cloth will make even more of a mess.
And all fires give off a gas that damages stainless steel,
glass, marble and other substances."
To prevent contamination of the entire house after any house fire,
Peter suggests putting cheesecloth or other filters over all air
vents and keeping the room where the fire started closed off for as
long as possible. The actual cleanup is best done by restoration
professionals. They will pretreat certain materials, test various
chemicals to see what works and deodorize the home. Immediate
cleanup is critical to prevent permanent damage and protect your
health. Your insurance carrier can provide more information to help
you minimize your loss.