Doyle Hose Company No. 2 -Est. 1924-

• Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stove top.
• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling food.
• If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it  regularly, remain in the kitchen while food is cooking, and use a timer  to remind you that you are cooking.
• Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stove top.

• Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
• Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after you leave.
• If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and you have a clear way out.
• Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease  fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the  stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

Learn how a few simple safety tips can protect you and your family from a potentially devastating home fire.

• Always stay in the kitchen when frying on the stove top.
• Keep an eye on what you fry. If you see wisps of smoke or the  oil smells, immediately turn off the burner and/or carefully remove the  pan from the burner. Smoke is a danger sign that the oil is too hot.
• Heat the oil slowly to the temperature you need for frying or sautéing.
• Add food gently to the pot or pan so the oil does not splatter.
• Always cook with a lid beside your pan. If you have a fire,  slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Do not remove the  cover because the fire could start again. Let the pan cool for a long  time. Never throw water on the fire.
• If the fire does not go out or you don’t feel comfortable  sliding a lid over the pan, get everyone out of your home. Call the fire department from outside.

Based on 2014-2018 annual averages:

• Two-thirds  of home cooking fires start with the ignition of food or other cooking materials.
• Clothing is the item first ignited in less than 1% of  these fires, but clothing ignitions caused 8% of the home cooking fire  deaths.
• Ranges or cook tops account for three-fifths of home cooking fire incidents.
• Unattended equipment is a factor in one-third of reported home cooking fires and over half of the associated deaths.
• Frying dominates the cooking fire problem.

Source: NFPA Applied Research
* Homes include one- and two-family homes, apartments (regardless of ownership), and manufactured housing.

Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural  gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon  monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also  produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

• The dangers of CO exposure depend on a number of variables, including the victim's health and activity level. Infants, pregnant  women, and people with physical conditions that limit their body's ability to use oxygen (i.e. emphysema, asthma, heart disease) can be more severely affected by lower concentrations of CO than healthy adults would be.
• A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer  period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.
• In 2016, local fire departments responded to an estimated  79,600 carbon monoxide incidents, or an average of nine such calls per  hour. This does not include the 91,400 carbon monoxide alarm  malfunctions and the 68,000 unintentional carbon monoxide alarms.
• Data from the Center of Disease Control and  Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics shows that in 2017, 399 people died of unintentional non-fire carbon monoxide  poisoning.  

• CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound. 
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for placement and mounting height. 
• Choose a CO alarm that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory. 
• Call your local fire department’s non-emergency number to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds. 
• Test CO alarms at least once a month; replace them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 
• If the audible trouble signal sounds, check for low batteries. If the battery is low, replace it. If it still sounds, call the fire department. 
• If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the  home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel. 
• If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow. 
• During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow build-up. 
• A generator should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from windows, doors and vent openings. 
• Gas or charcoal grills can produce CO — only use outside. 

CO enters the body through breathing. CO poisoning can be confused with flu symptoms, food poisoning and other illnesses. Some symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, light hotheadedness or headaches. High levels of CO can be fatal, causing death  within minutes. 

The concentration of CO, measured in parts per million (ppm) is a determining factor in the symptoms for an average, healthy adult.

• 50 ppm: No adverse effects with 8 hours of exposure.
• 200 ppm: Mild headache after 2-3 hours of exposure.
• 400 ppm: Headache and nausea after 1-2 hours of exposure.
• 800 ppm: Headache, nausea, and dizziness after 45 minutes; collapse and unconsciousness after 1 hour of exposure.
• 1,000 ppm: Loss of consciousness after 1 hour of exposure.
• 1,600 ppm: Headache, nausea, and dizziness after 20 minutes of exposure.
• 3,200 ppm: Headache, nausea, and dizziness after 5-10 minutes; collapse and unconsciousness after 30 minutes of exposure.
• 6,400 ppm: Headache and dizziness after 1-2 minutes; unconsciousness and danger of death after 10-15 minutes of exposure.
• 12,800 ppm: Immediate physiological effects, unconsciousness and danger of death after 1-3 minutes of exposure.

Source: NFPA's Fire Protection Handbook, 20th Edition.