Holiday Fire Safety Tips

Overview

The Boise Fire Department wants you to have a safe and happy holiday season. Please keep these safety tips in mind when celebrating the joyous season.

Cooking

• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling or broiling food.
• If you are simmering, baking or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the kitchen while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
• Keep anything that can catch fire - oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains - away from your stovetop.
• Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t cook.
• Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
• For an oven fire turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
• If you're frying a turkey, make sure that the fryer is at least 10 feet away from the home or other combustible structure. It should never be used inside of a home or garage no matter how cold it is outside. Never place the fryer under overhanging branches.  

Candles

It's easy to forget that the lovely candles used in thousands of homes during the winter holidays are ignition materials too. To keep your holidays safe, candles should be used by adults only, and used with care. December is the most dangerous month for candle fires, with almost twice the number of home candle fires of an average month. Christmas is the peak day, followed by New Year's Day and Christmas Eve. For a safer holiday season:

• Keep candles, along with all ignition materials, out of the reach of children.
• Never leave a room with a candle still burning
• Declare all bedrooms "no candle" zones. Forty-one percent of the home candle fires reported from 1999-2001 started in bedrooms, and a mattress or bedding was the first item ignited in 26% of home candle fire deaths.
• Keep candles well away from any items that can catch fire, including cloth, books, paper, curtains, Christmas tree, and decorations. During December, decorations are the leading item first ignited during candle fires.
• Place candles in sturdy holders, away from spots where they could be knocked over by children or pets.
• Keep exits clear of decorations. Be sure everyone in your home knows your fire escape routes and that there is nothing blocking these exits.

Information provided by Fireproof Children First 2005.