Oct. 7, 2020 — As Oregon experiences cooler weather and many community members begin to spend more time at home, the Office of State Fire Marshal will be engaging in support of the national campaign of Fire Prevention Week and will be running cooking fire safety messaging for the month of October. Oregon’s theme mirrors the 2020 national theme: “Serve up fire safety in the kitchen!”
“Nationally, cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, with unattended cooking being the leading cause of fires in the kitchen,” said Assistant Chief Deputy Claire McGrew. “In Oregon, cooking was the leading known cause of residential structure fires over the past five years, through 2019.”
According to data collected from the Oregon Fire Service for the National Fire Reporting System, home fires caused 29 deaths in Oregon in 2019, and fire agencies in Oregon responded to 2,790 home fires; and cooking was the leading known cause of residential structure fires over the past five years (2015-19), causing an average of 19 percent of Oregon’s total residential structure fires and six deaths.
To help keep you safe in the kitchen, cooking fire safety tips include:
If a cooking fire does start:
If you cannot quickly extinguish the fire:
“This year has been a challenging one for Oregonians,” says State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple. “As we continue to face the challenges of COVID-19 and now the impacts of the Oregon fire season, it demonstrates the resilient spirit of Oregonians. Fire Prevention Month is a good reminder as we continue to be in our homes and closed settings to bring fire safe practices into the home, which will continue to keep you and your families safe from the dangers of fire.”
For more information on home cooking fire safety, please visit the OSFM’s, www.oregon.gov/osp/programs/sfm/Pages/FirePreventionMonth.aspx.
Additional resources may also be found on the National Fire Protection Association website, www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Preparedness/Fire-Prevention-Week.