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| Prevent Home Cooking Fires |
November 24 is the start of National Home Fire Safety Week in Canada. And, of course, November 25 is Thanksgiving in the US. So this is the perfect time to talk about preventing cooking fires.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving is the leading day for cooking fires, with fire departments responding to three times as many cooking fires as an average day. And the leading contributing factor in cooking equipment fires is unattended cooking.
Share with your workers these cooking safety tips to prevent burns, scalds and fires:
- Never wear loose clothing or baggy sleeves while cooking.
- Don’t reach across fryers, stoves and other hot surfaces and materials.
- Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop, including food packaging, towels, oven mitts, etc.
- Use potholders when handling pots.
- Use caution around steam and boiling water. Protect your face and arms when lifting pot lids. When removing the cover from a boiling pot, expose the far side of the pot first, to release steam.
- Never leave oil under heat unattended.
- Never overfill a fryer with oil or food.
- Cool oil before moving it.
- Turn pan handles aside so they don't get bumped or snag on clothing, but keep them clear of other burners.
- Before microwaving food, vent the container by lifting the edge of the cover.
- Use caution when opening covered containers that have been in the microwave, and open them away from your face.
- Be alert! If you’re sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop.
- Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling or broiling food. Turn off the stove if you have to leave the kitchen, for even a short period of time.
- Stay home while food is baking, roasting or boiling. And use a timer to remind yourself that you’re cooking.
- Keep a lid nearby to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan, turn off the stovetop and leave the pan covered until it’s completely cooled.
If you do have a cooking fire, the NFPA advises you to just get out! And close the door behind you when you leave, to help contain the fire. Call 911 or the local emergency number AFTER you leave.
Home fires claim hundreds of lives every year. Share this article with your workers on how they can protect their families. (Subscription to SafetySmart Online is required to access this page.)
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Demolition Video
Controlled demolitions usually occur without any hitches, but as this video shows, things can and do go seriously wrong occasionally. A huge smoke stack at a Springfield, OH, power plant fell the wrong way toward spectators, crashing through power lines. Thankfully, no one was hurt. |
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| OSHA Planning Public Hearing on Proposed Rule for Walking-Working Surfaces |
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that an informal public hearing on its proposed rule revising the Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standards will take place starting Jan. 18, 2011.
The revisions, designed to improve worker protection from slip, trip and fall hazards, are predicted to prevent about 20 fall-related workplace fatalities and more than 3,700 lost-work time injuries each year.
“Injuries and fatalities from fall hazards are a leading cause of work-related injuries and we need to have the best rule possible to ensure that we effectively address this serious hazard,” says OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels.
Proposed revisions will include specific criteria for personal fall protection equipment that are consistent with industry voluntary consensus standards and will better align OSHA’s general industry walking-working surfaces standards with the agency’s construction and shipyard industry standards.
The public hearing will be held at the US. Department of Labor building in Washington, DC, starting at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 18, 2011.
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