A man was injured in central Florida on Monday after he suffered burns to his hands and face after a fire broke out in his home. In Brevard County, 12 people in Titusville were displaced after a grease fire occurred in an apartment complex after a house fire.
In 2015, firefighters responded to 50,000 fires, or one call every 11 minutes, the Florida State Fire Marshal's Office said.
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The amount of damage caused by those fires resulted in millions of dollars in property damage and over 200 people losing their lives.
News 6 spoke with the National Fire Protection Association and the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office to ask how you can keep your family safe in the event of a fire.
Keeping your kitchen safe while cooking
As you are cooking, it is important for you to pay attention to what you are cooking and the areas around your stove top.
If you have to leave the kitchen for a short time, turn off the stove top, Lorraine Carli, spokesperson for the National Fire Protection Association, told News 6.
Additionally, Carli told News 6 to make sure that paper towels, and dish towels are not around the stove top. In the event that a grease fire occurs when cooking, it is recommended to have a lid on the counter near the stove to keep the fire contained.
If a grease fire does break out, the National Fire Protection Association
recommends that you do not carry the pan across the sink or try to distinguish it.
If you do, you could splatter the grease over the kitchen.
Additionally, take your time while cooking, said Jon Moore, spokesman for the Florida State Fire Marshal's Office.
As you take your time, make sure to keep everything organized, Moore said.
If you do have a fire extinguisher, make sure to know how to use it.
Making sure your kitchen is safe also means making the children in the home safe in the kitchen. Having the kitchen become a child-free zone makes sure to prevent any accidents.
Fire safety plan, smoke alarms
One of the best things to do before a fire is to make sure you have working smoke alarms and a home escape plan.
As for smoke alarms, make sure to test them out every month and if you have a battery backup, replace them every year.
Moore told News 6 it is also helpful to make sure you are testing them when you change your clocks in the spring and fall.
In the chance there is a fire, the safest thing to do is to leave the house shut to contain the fire and call 911, Moore said.
For the home escape plan, Carli said there should be ways out of every room in your home and a meeting place outside the home.
Space heater, electric devices
Trying to stay warm in the winter and beat the chill in the air is important, but what is more important is to remain safe while using a space heater or electric blanket.
Also it is important to make sure to check the cords before you plug them in.
If you do use them, make sure to keep the heater three feet away from anything that can burn and turn them off when you go to sleep at night, Carli told News 6.