BURRILLVILLE – National Fire Prevention Week begins on Sunday, Oct. 8, and ends on Saturday, Oct., 14 this year.
The National Fire Prevention Association has declared this week National Safe Cooking Week across the country. The campaign launch focus is this week and continues over the next twelve months with a new campaign focus due out next October.
This week’s fire safety and burn prevention coloring cartoon reminds kids about safety near and around stoves while in use. The NFPA slogan, “Cooking Safety Starts With You,” for this yearlong campaign, can also include children, and what they can do in order to help prevent fires and avoid burns in apartments and houses. One of the most important messages we can convey to little kids in order to keep them from harm’s way, is to remind them to stay at least three feet away from stoves in kitchens while cooking meals.
The Fearless Dino Protector Squad has been continuously reminding children about fire safety and burn prevention for two decades. Over the coming weeks, we will be reaching out to kids and families with fire safety and burn prevention coloring cartoons and related articles for adults. Messages will relate to winter weather conditions, as well as the upcoming holiday season. Fire safety and burn prevention will be a primary focus, along with outdoor winter activities regarding little kids.
A couple of cooking safety tips this week include a reminder to keep pots and pans handles out of reach of little kids, and keep kids away from hot stoves while you are cooking meals. Never leave stoves unattended and keep a watchful eye on children in the kitchen to help keep them safe from burns, and preventable stove and cooking-related injuries. Make sure stoves and ovens are completely turned off after cooking, and keep kids away from stoves during the cooldown process. Kids should always remain at least three feet away from hot stoves. Cooking safety does start with you.
Jim Weicherding is a Burrillville resident, and the founder and creator of an award-winning traffic safety effort Seasons of Safety. Weicherding contributes kids’ coloring cartoons, which can be printed and used to help parents discuss safety issues with their children. He has a long list of police officers and firefighters in his family and has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in a creative public safety capacity for more than two decades.
