TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The holiday season is a happy time, but it is also a fire-prone time in Tampa Bay.
Kitchen fires are the number one cause of house fires, and the number of kitchen fires grows during the holiday season.
Jim Schmidt, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue public education technician and training specialist, reminds people to never leave a working kitchen unattended and to leave a 3-foot child-free and pet-free space around any cooktop.
In case of an oven fire, do not open the oven door.
“We want to keep it closed,” Schmidt said. “If we open it, we're going to feed it oxygen and make that fire bigger, and it's going to come out. So you're going to keep that door closed, and you want to shut off that heat to it."
As for a stove fire, Schmidt said to slide a lid on top of the pot or pan.
"That's going to take the oxygen away," he said. “And then we're going to shut the burner off, and we're going to take the heat away."
Public safety officials are not fans of at-home fireworks use, but if people do use them to celebrate the new year or any other holiday, they should dispose of used fireworks and dues in water.
“Submerge them in water," said Capt. Henry Williams with Tampa Fire Rescue. "There’s a couple fires we respond to every year, and that’s because people will think the fireworks are out, dispose of them and the fire reignites."
This year, five people died in Hillsborough County after falling off a ladder.
When putting up or taking down decorations, never stand on the top of a ladder.
Always have a buddy and used a ladder that fits the task, never too tall or too short.
“You change that position, your center of balance when you’re on a ladder and it becomes very very dangerous if you reach too far to the side, too far to the top,” said Chief Jeremy Sidlauskas, Plant City Fire Rescue Department.
Candles, while festive, have also caused fires when left unattended.
‘Blow them out if you're gonna leave or take a shower, just walk outside. Blow them out,” said Capt. Garth Swingle, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.
The best way to stay safe in a fire is to have working smoke alarms.
"Twice a year make sure you change the batteries out," Swingle said. "Even if they're electrically hard wired the battery's a backup so if the power goes out and it can't work we want to make sure that the battery's gonna make sure it works."
Many fire departments partner with the American Red Cross to install smoke alarms for free.
To learn more, visit https://www.redcross.org/local/florida/central-florida/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign.html?srsltid=AfmBOoroJly3le8PMg12ClRs14DR-D3bp1O4n7i4vJLzB285QTyUo8SC.
