THE STOVE
Do not light a gas stove or gas oven if there is a distinct
odor of gas. Open a window. If the odor persists, call a repairman. Never keep
a coal or gas stove or a gas grate burning unless there are vents or flues to
take away the gases. Keep a window partly open. And if you leave the kitchen,
turn off the gas, even if this strikes you as inconvenient. Remember, pots that
boil over may put out flames, creating a risk of gas explosion.
Almost every
cook sooner or later is confronted with a grease fire, perhaps while broiling
meat too close to the flames. Keep equipment, such as sand and fire
extinguisher, at hand to put out such fires. If you Home Accidents and Their
Prevention / 505 have no fire extinguisher, use plain baking soda or salt.
Water is ineffective and sometimes dangerous for oil or grease fires. And teach
children to keep away from the stove. Many burns and scalds would be avoided if
children, as a rule, were kept out of the kitchen when hot foods were being
prepared.
CLEANING FLUIDS
If you must keep
flammable liquids around the house, store them in tightly closed metal
containers (never glass), in a cool, well-ventilated place away from anything
else that might catch fire. Use cleaning fluids only in a well-ventilated
place, making certain there is no open flame, lighted tobacco, or electric
spark nearby. Keep such liquids where children can't get to them. Never use
kerosene or any other cleaning fluid to start a fire in the furnace, wood
stove, or fireplace.
CHRISTMAS TREES
These are special
fire hazards. As a tree dries out, it becomes a potential torch which can be
set off by a cigarette, candle flame, or a short circuit in a string of lights.
You might consider buying a fire-retardant synthetic tree. Or buy your tree as
late before Christmas as possible, get rid of it as soon afterward as you can,
and in the meantime keep its base in a pan of water. Use only flame proofed
materials for decoration. Avoid candles; use only lights approved by one of the
major fire-testing laboratories.
