Turkey Day can sometimes lead to tragedy

How often has the doorbell rung or a child interrupted you while you were cooking, causing you to forget about the chicken you left sizzling on the stove - until smoke filled the house?

In 2006, Thanksgiving Day topped the charts again as the peak day for home-cooking fires. According to National Fire Protection Association reports, there were 1,400 home structure fires involving cooking equipment that year, which is more than three times the daily average.

If this sounds familiar, I hope you'll read on, because you're running the risk of having a dangerous fire. As assistant chief of the El Mirage Fire Department, I often talk to people about ways they can stay safe in their homes. Too often, we have that talk after they've suffered a damaging fire.

It's my hope that people won't have to learn the hard way. If I could give just one fire warning, I'd say, "Stand by your pan!"

Why? Because cooking is the leading cause of home fires, according to the non-profit NFPA. Latest statistics from NFPA say that one out of every three home fires started in the kitchen, and more than 140,000 fires a year were related to cooking.

Guess why most of these fires occur? Leaving cooking unattended.

Often when we're called to a cooking-related fire, the residents tell us they left the kitchen for a few minutes, as was the case on Nov. 20 in El Mirage. Sadly, that's all it takes to go to disaster.

The bottom line is, there's really no safe period for the cook to step away from a hot stove. A few key points to remember:

• Never leave cooking food on the stovetop unattended, and keep a close eye on food cooking inside the oven.

• Keep cooking areas clean and clear of combustibles (potholders, towels, rags, drapes and food packaging).

• Enforce a "kid-free zone" of three feet around the stove. Keep pets from underfoot so you do not trip while cooking.

• Never use a wet oven mitt, as it presents a scald danger if the moisture in the mitt is heated.

• Always keep a potholder, oven mitt and lid handy. If a small fire starts in a pan on the stove, put on an oven mitt and smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan. Turn off the burner. Don't remove the lid until it is completely cool.

• Never pour water on a grease fire and never discharge a fire extinguisher onto a pan fire, as it can spray or shoot burning grease around the kitchen and spread the fire.

• If there is an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed to prevent flames from burning you and your clothing.

• If there is a microwave fire, keep the door closed and unplug the microwave. Call the fire department and make sure to have the oven serviced before you use it again. Food cooked in a microwave can be dangerously hot. Remove the lids or other coverings from microwaved food carefully to prevent steam burns.

A cooking fire can quickly turn deadly. I have seen too many homes destroyed and people killed or injured by fires that could easily have been avoided. Please heed these simple safety rules. We, firefighters, would like to be in your kitchen, but only when you invite us for dinner!

Howard Munding is El Mirage's assistant fire chief.