The New York Post
NEW YORK —Teachers should know their ABCs. Train conductors should know to stand clear of the closing doors. And it stands to reason that firefighters would know how to avoid starting kitchen fires.
Apparently not.
The FDNY was forced to send out an embarrassing memo last week reminding members about basic stovetop safety after a careless kitchen fire at a Brooklyn firehouse.
Some kitchen walls got scorched at Engine 234/Ladder 123 in Crown Heights after someone left a cooking pot on a high flame while they went out on a call.
“We were leaving,” one firefighter at the house told The Post yesterday. “The guy thought he turned the stove off, but he actually turned it all the way up.”
The small fire was found when they got back. No one was hurt, and the damage was minor, but officials admitted that the incident was part of the reason for the release of the basic fire safety tips in a “department orders” memo this week.
“It’s just a reminder to warn firefighters to be extra cautious while cooking,” a department spokesperson said.
The memo’s tips look more like something given to school children than to professional firefighters.
The tips included:
* Never leave cooking food on the stovetop unattended.
* Keep cooking areas clean and clear of combustibles (i.e. potholders, towels, rags.)
* Never pour water on a grease fire and never discharge a fire extinguisher onto a pan fire, as it can spray or shoot burning grease around the kitchen, actually spreading the fire.
* If there is a microwave fire, keep the door closed and unplug the microwave.
Some FDNY observers thought the memo was like the American Dental Association sending out a notice to dentists reminding them to floss.
“Things must be pretty bad when they have to tell firemen how to avoid food-on-the-stove fires in the firehouse,” a source said.
But a department spokesperson said they usually send out reminders about basic safety, such as telling people to use seat belts. Also, it’s not unprecedented for fires to start in firehouse kitchens during the rush to respond to a blaze.
“I wouldn’t say they are common, but we’ve had them,” the spokesman said.
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