By Jared Janes
The Advocate
Copyright 2006 Capital City Press
All Rights Reserved
BATON ROUGE, La. — It was just more than a year ago that Genie Kruszynsky drove what felt like the longest trip of her life, just the few miles from her job on Essen Lane to her home in the 7700 block of LaSalle Avenue.
Minutes earlier, Kruszynsky’s son, then 25 years old, had called to tell her their house was on fire. Her first concern, she said, was her family’s safety, her second, the family’s pictures, and her third, the house.
Kruszynsky’s house sustained only moderate damage to the kitchen during the Nov. 4, 2005, fire. She said the blaze started when her husband, Mitch, who was preparing to cook crawfish etouffeé, put cooking oil in a black pot on their electrical stove and went to the store for a few minutes.
The Kruszynskys’ story is similar to that of dozens of other East Baton Rouge Parish families each year, said officials with area fire departments. More than 30 percent of home fires start in the kitchen and, of those, most are caused by unattended cooking.
“Most of these fires are unintentional,” said Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Howard Ward. “Someone leaves a pot on the stove for a few minutes to go to the store or forgets about it when they get on the phone.”
The next thing they know, Ward said, their kitchen has caught on fire and, because cooking fires start quickly and spread fast, their house can soon follow.
It’s a nationwide problem.
A U.S. Fire Administration report shows that in 2000, 26 percent of structure fires started in the kitchen, while cooking caused 23 percent of all fires. In 2002, cooking-related fires caused an estimated 185,000 structure fires, 80 deaths, 3,875 injuries and $481 million in damage, according to the administration.
A Louisiana Fire Marshal’s report from 2005 shows that 46 percent of the fires in the state started in the kitchen, much more than the second-highest rate of 26 percent for the bedroom.
The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded to 529 structure fires in 2005, a category that includes houses, apartments and businesses. A breakdown of the fire causes and where they started was not available, but Ward said the department’s home fire statistics would be similar to national numbers and those of other local fire departments, including Baker, Central and Zachary.
In 2005, the St. George Fire Department responded to 65 fires, with 30 percent of them starting in the kitchen. Forty percent of the East Side Fire Department’s calls to house fires showed the blazes started in the kitchen or cooking area.
East Side Fire Department Chief Dale Hancock said most of the fires his department handles are cooking fires and, like the other area fire departments, most of them are unintentional.
He said kitchen fires are so common because people do not realize how quickly a pot unattended on the stove can get out of control.
“People that don’t have the background we have are fairly oblivious to most risk factors,” Hancock said. “It comes down to common sense and paying attention to what you’re doing.”
Area fire departments expect an increase in the number of fires to which they respond throughout the holiday season, Hancock said. Fires caused by heating units, Christmas decorations and fireplaces will keep firefighters busy this winter.
A large portion of the calls, Hancock said, will still be for the common kitchen fires as people do their holiday cooking. In November alone, area fire departments responded to at least four kitchen fires in Baton Rouge caused by pots left unattended on stoves.
Kruszynsky is not too surprised by the statistics. Her damaged kitchen has long since been restored, but that afternoon’s memory lingers.
Just a few weeks ago, Kruszynsky said she took her youngest son to a youth football game. Once there, she could not remember if she had turned the stove off after preparing dinner, so she went back home to check.
Her stove was off, the house fine and her mind was eased.
“You hear the stories but you think it’s not going to happen to you,” Kruszynsky said. “But it happened to us.”
Fire safety tips
- Install smoke detectors throughout your house and change batteries at least once a year.
- If your home has burglar bars, ensure you have a way to open them immediately with a key kept near the bars or a quick release device.
- Plan an escape route from every room and select a meeting place outside.
- Once outside, stay out and wait for firefighters to arrive.
- Keep items like paper, bedding, carpets and rugs several feet away from heat sources
- Never leave food cooking unattended.
- Follow manufacturer’s recommendations for everything from small appliances to Christmas decorations.
- Make sure Christmas trees are fresh, not dry and losing their needles. The tree stand should hold at least one gallon of water. Never burn a tree in a fireplace.
- Use fire screens for your fireplaces and have your chimney cleaned annually.
- Do not overload circuits or extension cords or run wires under rugs, over nails or through high traffic areas.
- Teach your children about fire safety, keep matches and lighters away from them and provide supervision when they are cooking.
- Do not leave burning candles unattended or place them where they can be easily knocked down.
Sources: U.S. Fire Administration, the National Fire Protection Association and the Baton Rouge, East Side, and Denham Springs fire departments.