Emergency crews hold safety demonstration, share tips ahead of holidays

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. — Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for cooking fires.

Alleghey County Emergency Services hosted a safety demonstration to remind residents of the dangers of holiday cooking, including frying a turkey, oven fires, and burn risks.

“A lot of it is oven fires, and outside turkey fryers, like we have here, but unattended cooking - that leads to higher numbers,” Assistant Chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services Steve Imbarlina.

Some safety reminders that were shared during the demonstrations are:

• Stay in the kitchen when frying, broiling, boiling, or grilling food. If you need to step away, turn off the burner.
• Keep the area around your stove clear of oven mitts, dish towels, food packaging, and any items that can easily ignite.
• Turn pot handles inward, away from the edge of the stove, to prevent bumps, spills, and burns.
• Maintain a kid- and pet-free zone of at least three feet around your cooking area.
• Avoid overloading outlets with slow cookers, coffee makers, and countertop appliances.
• Never use water on grease fires. Instead, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the heat.

Officials encourage residents to pick up safety tools as they shop for the ingredients for their Thanksgiving meals. That includes a fire extinguisher, working smoke alarms, and carbon-monoxide detectors.

If you need to use a fire extinguisher, follow what emergency crews refer to as the P.A.S.S. technique.

• Pull the pin
• Aim at the base of the fire
• Squeeze the handle
• Sweep from side to side

“These devices save lives,” Chief Imbarlina added. “Testing alarms and knowing how to use an extinguisher gives you the best chance to stop a small incident before it becomes a serious emergency.”

If flames in your home break out and get out of control, get everyone out, close the doors behind you and call 911 from a safe location.

Families are asked to keep these safety tips in mind for the entire year, not just during the holidays.

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