Once again the North Battleford Fire Department is getting out important information to the public during Fire Prevention Week.
The annual event, being held this week from Oct. 6 to 12, is an opportunity for local residents to learn more about the activities of their local fire department as well as learn important information about fires and how to prevent or stop them.
This week the theme is Prevent Kitchen Fires. Deputy fire chief in charge of prevention Kevin Steinborn says kitchen fires are the leading cause of fires both in North Battleford and Canada.
He says there have been 25 of them already in the city this year. Often the cause is due to leaving stoves or pans unattended or simple mistakes people make in the kitchen.
The fire department is offering a few important tips to prevent kitchen fires including: pay attention when cooking and turn off the stove if you must leave for any reason; wear tight-fitting or rolled up sleeves and avoid loose dangling clothing that might touch the burner; keep a proper lid near the stove; keep a close eye on anyone in your household who is drinking and attempts to cook; and be careful with kids around the kitchen so that kids don't get close.
Sometimes people make mistakes when a kitchen fire breaks out.
"What people do is they panic and they'll go and take the pot and run it over to the sink and they'll run water on it. They think 'fire and water,' and that's the worst thing you could ever do for a grease fire, because if you put water on a grease fire it grows 10 to 50 times its size. So that's where people make that mistake and people get hurt by doing that."
Instead, Steinborn is advising people that if the pot does catch on fire, to make sure there's a lid for it and, with an oven mitt, safely put the lid over top of the pot and turn off the stove. That will cut off the oxygen and the fire will go out all by itself.
People are encouraged to call the fire department with any more questions or to go to a number of websites for more information. Steinborn says the NFPA.org website is a good resource for those tips.
Beyond that, Fire Prevention Week was filled with numerous activities in the community to promote prevention, starting Saturday at Sobey's where a display booth was set up.
Free home safety inspections were offered in the city and there were fire drills conducted at various locations in North Battleford.
Scheduled for Friday is the annual Fire Chief for a Day event where winning kids selected from various area schools were able to get a tour of the fire hall and operate fire fighting equipment and wear fire fighting clothing. Domino's Pizza provides lunch for that event, with the winner getting to have lunch with the new Fire Chief Albert Headrick and other members of the department.
Saturday, the fire department is scheduled to set up an information booth at Territorial Place Mall from 1 to 4 p.m. where local firefighters will be available to take questions and provide information on fires.
Wednesday was the traditional lunch for the public at the fire hall. While in past years it was known as the Beef on a Bun, this year they decided to change things up and offer a "Smokey on a Bun" instead.
Once again the event brought out a good turnout of people who had an opportunity to see plenty of information displays as well as fire equipment. Proceeds go to the Burn Fund.
That annual event is a major undertaking at the fire hall for firefighters there who were collecting the cash and serving the "Smokeys," coleslaw, cake and drinks. It also fits with the department's mandate to provide information and education to the public.
Still, it does raise the question -- what happens if a fire breaks out in the city during one of these Smokey on a Bun events?
Steinborn said it's never been an issue, as there are plenty of firefighters on hand at the fire hall, ready to respond if needed. In fact, Steinborn remembers there was one year when they did have to respond to a fire right in the middle of one of their lunch events.
"It happened one year - we had a small incident, I think it was a dumpster fire or something like that," said Steinborn. "But we're still protecting the city and still going to be here to serve the public that come for the lunch."
