“Fire prevention is easy:” London fire department urges safety ahead of Thanksgiving

The London Fire Department (LFD) is urging people to practice fire safety and prevention ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Fire Prevention Week runs from Oct. 8-14 with the goal of educating people about simple but important actions they can take to prevent kitchen fires.

According to the LFD, cooking remains the leading cause of residential-loss fires in Ontario.

“Never leave the kitchen when the stove is on, not even for a minute,” deputy fire chief Matt Hepditch said  in a statement.

“A fire can start fast and an unattended pot on fire will spread before you are even aware. If you must leave the cooking area, turn off the stove. Unattended cooking is not an accident and can be avoided.”

Hepditch recommends avoiding unattended cooking, distractions, and cooking under the influence. A cluttered workspace and loose clothing and hair can also lead to disaster in the kitchen.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, he says it’s especially important to maintain fire safety to have a dinner to remember for the right reasons.

“There’s a lot of things going on in your home depending on if you’re hosting, even if you’re just with your immediate family. Pay attention to what’s going on, leave your phone, put it down.”

At a press conference Friday afternoon, Hepditch and London mayor Josh Morgan demonstrated how to effectively put out a grease fire.

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Hepditch said that while baking soda and salt may be effective for small fires, the simplest way is to smother the fire with a lid.

“It’s very easy to be proactive instead of reactive,” he said. “It’s very easy to ensure that you have a pot lid by the stove prior to cooking.”

Morgan said attentiveness in the kitchen is the number one way to prevent fires.

“Fire safety starts with prevention and preparedness,” Morgan said. “Whatever holiday you celebrate, you have to have a little bit of precaution, a little bit of thought, because just a few minutes of looking away can cause a big disaster.”