Guardian SSI Warns Families About Thanksgiving Cooking Fires
10 Tips for Cooking Safety
Guardian Safety Solutions International, Inc. (GSSI) warns families that Thanksgiving can be hazardous to their health. More cooking fires are reported on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year. About 45 house fires are reported every hour in the U.S., and 60 percent of apartment fires are started by cooking equipment. Sadly, children and the elderly make up the greatest national percentage of injury and death due to household fires.
“Thanksgiving is a special day with relatives, but answering the door to welcome guests can distract even the most careful cook,” said Paul Rouse, GSSI administrative officer. “Alcohol during Thanksgiving celebrations can also add to cooking inattentiveness. Next thing you know, a fire starts consuming the stove, curtains and other flammable material in the kitchen.”
The popularity of turkey deep fryers has added another hazard to the celebration. The cooking oil temperature is extremely hot. Rouse said that they should be used as far from the house as possible. “It’s important to note that not one turkey fryer has been certified as safe by Underwriters Laboratories,” Rouse added. He offers tips for cooking safety.
10 tips for Thanksgiving cooking fire safety:
1. Never leave a room while cooking.
2. If you must leave the room while cooking, turn off the stove.
3. Keep pot handles turned to the back of the stove so children cannot grab them.
4. Wear short sleeves or tight sleeves while cooking so nothing dangles near a flame.
5. Keep paper, towels, pot holders, wooden utensils and curtains away from the cooking area.
6. Have one or more fire extinguishers handy and know how to use them.
7. Keep stove tops clean; remove built up grease and spilled food.
8. Never throw water on a grease fire – smother it with a pan lid instead.
9. Keep children and pets in the “kid-free” zone three feet from the stove.
10. Have a fire escape plan, and review and rehearse it often.
“The time to protect yourself against a range top fire is before it strikes. By simply installing the Guardian, you can rest at ease and party safely.” With the system, a fire can be extinguished in as little as seven seconds (video).
The Guardian is designed to detect and extinguish cooking fires and at the same time prevents re-ignition. Once it detects heat at a pre-determined temperature, a signal is sent to release the extinguishing agent to suppress the fire and to shut off the gas or electric supply to the stove in order to prevent reigniting. “Whether it is a single home or an apartment at risk, putting the fire out quickly is imperative to minimize damage and injury,” Rouse said.
For more information, contact GSSI at 800-786-2178 or visit www.guardianssi.com. Visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GuardianSSI and on Twitter @GuardianSSI.
About GSSI
Protecting families worldwide since 1985, Guardian Safety Solutions International Inc. is the recognized leader in the development and manufacturing of residential range top fire protection systems. GSSI’s mission is to develop and distribute quality safety products that provide customers with peace of mind, while protecting lives and property. GSSI manufactures the Guardian III Model G300B, UL and ULC listed with a fuel shut-off.
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Media Contact:
Susan Tellem, APR, RN, BSN
Tellem Grody PR, Inc.
susan@tellemgrodypr.com
310 313-3444 x1
Guardian SSI Details Student Cooking Safety Information at Campus Fire Forum 2014
Dallas – November 5, 2014 – Guardian Safety Solutions International, Inc. (GSSI), the leader in the development and manufacturing of residential range top fire protection systems, will exhibit at the Campus Fire Forum 2014, November 10 – 13, at the Wyndham Hotel, Orlando. Representing more than 4,000 campuses, the Center for Campus Fire Safety is a nonprofit organization devoted to reducing the loss of life from fire at our nation’s campuses.
“Cooking fires cause more than $25 million in damages to college campuses each year. Campus fire safety is one of our top priorities, so we are delighted to demonstrate our ‘Guardian Solution’ range top suppression system that protects against a range top fire before it causes property damage or injuries to employees and students,” said Paul Rouse, Guardian SSI’s administrative officer. “While parents send their kids off to college with safety as a top priority, fear of kitchen fires ranks well below safety concerns about drugs, alcohol, crime and other campus issues.” According to Rouse, college fires should move up to the top of parents’ and university housing concerns since 72 percent of college campus fires are cooking related.
“With many students living in off campus apartments, parents and university officials should know that 60 percent of apartment fires are started by cooking equipment,” said Rouse. “There are so many distractions for young adults in today’s busy world – texting, answering an email, friends come to visit – they begin to cook a meal and easily forget about it. Next thing you know, whoosh, a fire starts consuming the stove, curtains and other flammable material in the kitchen,” he said. The National Fire Protection Association says that cooking causes almost half of all fire fatalities each year, and 20 percent of fire deaths are drug or alcohol related.
“These statistics are the core of our “Guardian Solution,’ or range top suppression system which can be easily installed or retrofitted into new or older student housing,” said Rouse. “The time to protect college students against a range top fire is before it strikes. By simply installing the Guardian, colleges and universities, as well as apartment owners who cater to college kids, can rest at ease knowing that potential cooking fires stand no chance in a Guardian protected kitchen.” See how the Guardian works here.
The Guardian is designed to detect and extinguish cooking fires and at the same time prevents re-ignition. Once it detects heat at a pre-determined temperature, a signal is sent to release the extinguishing agent to suppress the fire and to shut off the gas or electric supply to the stove in order to prevent reigniting.
“Putting the fire out quickly is imperative to minimize damage and injury to students,” Rouse said. “The Guardian system provides that speed and protection.” For more information, contact GSSI at 800-786-2178 or visit www.guardianssi.com. Visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GuardianSSI and on Twitter @GuardianSSI.
About GSSI
Protecting families worldwide since 1985, GSSI is the recognized leader in the development and manufacturing of residential range top fire protection systems. GSSI’s mission is to develop and distribute quality safety products that provide customers with peace of mind, while protecting lives and property. See ICC-ES Listing No PMG-1166 at www.icc-es.org\pmg.
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Media Contact:
Susan Tellem, APR, RN, BSN
Tellem Grody PR, Inc.
310.313.3444 x1
Susan@tellemgrodypr.com
Fire Prevention Week 2014 – Protect Yourself Against Deadly Cooking Fires
It’s Fire Prevention Week October 5 – 11, and this year’s focus is on motivating people to test their smoke alarms each month to make sure they’re working properly. According to Guardian Safety Solution International, Inc., one key place a working smoke alarm is important is in the kitchen. The National Fire Protection Association reports that cooking was involved in 156,400 home fires in 2010 (latest figures available). These fires caused 410 deaths, 5,310 injuries and almost $100 million in direct property damage. Those were the reported fires, but it is estimated that more than 12 million unintentional home cooking fires go unreported and cause 640,000 injuries annually.
“Home owners and apartment dwellers are at most risk for fires because of inattentiveness…the phone rings, you answer an email, the baby cries. There are so many distractions in today’s busy world, it’s easy to start to cook a meal and then forget about it,” says Paul Rouse, GuardianSSI’s administrative officer. “Next thing you know, a fire starts on the stove and quickly spreads to curtains and other flammable material.”
In addition to working smoke detectors and a handy fire extinguisher, Rouse recommends installing the Guardian III Model G300B, UL and ULC listed with a fuel shut-off. The Guardian is designed to detect and extinguish cooking fires and prevent re-ignition in private homes, apartments, senior housing, college campuses, hospitals and other facilities. See how the Guardian works here.
Once it detects heat at a pre-determined temperature, the Guardian sends a signal to release an extinguishing agent that suppresses the fire. Guardian will also shut off the gas or electric supply to the stove in order to prevent reigniting. “It makes sense in this busy world to have as much safety equipment as possible available to prevent or extinguish kitchen fires,” says Rouse.
Protecting families worldwide since 1985, GSSI is the recognized leader in the development and manufacturing of residential range top fire protection systems. GSSI’s mission is to develop and distribute quality safety products that provide customers with peace of mind, while protecting lives and property. For more information, contact GSSI at 800-786-2178 or visit guardianssi.com. Like Guardian on Facebook at GuardianSSI and follow on Twitter @GuardianSSI.
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Media Contact:
Susan Tellem, APR, RN, BSN
Tellem Grody PR, Inc.
310.313.3444 x1
Susan@tellemgrodypr.com
Toddler Injured in Cooking Fire
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports a toddler was injured in a cooking fire. According to the report by Meg Jones, “A one-year-old boy was burned in a house fire Monday evening. When firefighters arrived at the two-family home around 7:30 p.m., the child and his mother were already outside the home in the 1700 block of W. Capitol Drive, said Battalion 2 Chief Kenton Kais. The boy suffered first- and second-degree burns on his arms and right leg and was taken to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, where he was expected to recover.The blaze was caused by a cooking fire. Fire crews were on the scene for 1 1/2 hours.” Create a three-foot “child-free zone” around the stove. Keep children and pets away from the stove while cooking to prevent burns and scalds
Unattended Cooking Fire House Tour
We hope not, because the majority of of all house fires start in the kitchen. In this video from Australia, Fire Investigator Mick Forbes walks us through a unit destroyed by fire – the cause was a pot left unattended on the stove. Do you leave cooking unattended? Check out the tour of this burned out home here: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=781797655188147
Fire: It Was the Best of Times, Worst of Times…
Lt. Tom Kiurski, a 30-year veteran of the fire service, serves the Brighton Area Fire Department in Michigan as an academy instructor. He writes about the “Tale of Two Fires” where two families in Warren, Ohio, had cooking fires where 10 adults and children perished in one year. His article in the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus tells a compelling story about how cooking fires can be prevented.
His article begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. While those are lines from Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” it also has a lot to do with the tale I will tell you of two families in Ohio.” Read more by clicking here.
