NFPA urges added caution for home fire safety during COVID-19 pandemic

QUINCY, Mass. – As the public largely remains at home in response to COVID-19, the National Fire Protection Association urges added caution for home fire safety in the days and weeks ahead.

According to NFPA, cooking, heating, and electrical equipment are among the leading causes of home fires year-round.

“We already see the majority of fires happening in homes,” Lorraine Carli, vice president of Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA, said. “As people spend much more time at home and engage in activities that significantly contribute to the home fire problem, it’s critical that they recognize where potential hazards exist and what they can do to prevent fires.”

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and is responsible for nearly half, or 49%, of all reported home fires involving cooking equipment. Moreover, unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires, meaning that home cooking fires occur most often when people aren’t keeping a close eye on what they’re cooking.

“As many households are now dealing with unusual routines and out-of-the-ordinary circumstances, such as kids home from school and parents working from home, there’s greater potential for distracted cooking,” Carli said.

NFPA statistics show that heating equipment is the second-leading cause of home fires, resulting in an average of 52,050 home fires each year. Electrical distribution or lighting equipment is involved in an annual average of 35,100 home fires.

“For much of the country, heating systems are still in use and in many cases, for more hours than usual,” Carli said. “In addition, with everyone at home, people may be using the same outlets to charge phones, laptops and other digital equipment, which also presents a fire hazard.”

With these concerns in mind, NFPA reminds the public to use best practices for staying fire-safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond:

Cooking

· Stay in the kitchen while frying, boiling, grilling or broiling food. If the cook leaves the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

· When simmering, baking or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer as a reminder that food is cooking.

· Keep anything that can catch fire – oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains – away from the stovetop.

· Make sure all handles are turned inward, away from where someone can grab a hot handle or tip a pan over.

· Be on alert. If a person is sleepy or has consumed alcohol, refrain from using the stove or stovetop.

· If there are young children in the home, create a “child-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

Heating

· Keep anything that can burn at least 3-feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.

· Have a 3-foot “child-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.

· Never use your oven to heat a home.

· Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.

· Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.

· Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms to avoid the risk of CO poisoning. If someone smells gas in the gas heater, do not light the appliance. Leave the home immediately and call the local fire department or gas company.

Electrical

· When charging smartphones and other digital devices, only use the charging cord that came with the device.

· Do not charge a device under a pillow, on a bed or on a couch.

· Only use one heat-producing appliance, such as a coffee maker, toaster, space heater, etc. plugged into a receptacle outlet at a time.

· Major appliances, such as refrigerators, dryers, washers, stoves, air conditioners, microwave ovens, etc., should be plugged directly into a wall receptacle outlet. Extension cords and plug strips should not be used.

· Check electrical cords to make sure they are not running across doorways or under carpets. Extension cords are intended for temporary use.

· Use a light bulb with the right number of watts. There should be a sticker that indicates the right number of watts.

In addition, smoke alarms should be located on every level of the home, in each bedroom and near all sleeping areas. Test them monthly to make sure they’re working. NFPA also strongly encourages households to develop and practice a home escape plan to ensure that everyone knows what to do in a fire and can escape quickly and safely.

For a wealth of NFPA resources and information on home fire safety, visit https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education.

Submitted by National Fire Protection Association.