Firefighters Kept Busy With Preventable Fires

  • Thursday, April 19, 2018
photo by Battalion Chief Lesley Morgan
Chattanooga firefighters have stayed busy in recent days, responding to a variety of emergencies, including motor vehicle crashes, medical calls, and an assortment of grass, brush and dumpster fires. Among the more notable fires within the past three weeks, Chattanooga firefighters have responded to six structure fires, with all of them being preventable. Three of the fires were related to cooking, and the other three were started by improperly discarded cigarette butts.
All of these fires were preventable. Here's a list of those fires, including when and there they occurred:

March 28 - House at 2106 Milne Street - Food left unattended on the stove.
March 29 - House at 6921 Jesse Conner Road - Food left unattended on the stove.
April 6 - House at 1900 Tunnel Boulevard - Improperly discarded cigarettes
April 13 - Duplex at 2904 2nd Avenue - Food left unattended on the stove.
April 17 - Captain D's at 5,001 Oak Hill Road - Improperly discarded cigarettes.
April 18 - House at 904 Linden Hall Road - Improperly discarded cigarettes.

Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries. The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking. It is important to be alert to prevent cooking fires.

What you should know:
  • Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stovetop.
  • 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 sure to check the stove before going to bed and make sure all burners are OFF. Make it a habit. Do it every day!

Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths. Smoke alarms, smolder-resistant bedding and upholstered furniture are significant fire deterrents.

What you should know:

  • Never smoke in bed.
  • Do not put ashtrays on the arms of sofas or chairs
  • Use large, deep ashtrays with wide lips. While smaller ashtrays may be more attractive, they are not safe. Cigarettes can roll off the edge, and the ashes can easily be blown away.
  • Water down your ashes. Empty ashtrays into the toilet or an airtight metal container. Warm ashes dumped in waste cans can smolder for hours, and then ignite into fire.
  • Do not leave cigarettes, cigars, or pipes unattended. Put out all smoking materials before you walk away.
  • If you begin to feel drowsy while watching television or reading, extinguish your smoking materials in a safe container.
  • Close a matchbook before striking and hold it away from your body. Set your cigarette lighter on "low" flame to prevent burns.
  • If friends or relatives who smoke have paid you a visit, be sure to check on the floor and around chair cushions for ashes that may have been dropped accidentally.
  • Replace mattresses made prior to the 1973 Federal Mattress Flammability Standard.
  • Store matches and lighters up high and out of children's sight and reach, preferably in a locked cabinet.
  • Do not put ashtrays in a location where children or pets could knock them over.
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