Grease Fires---Not what you'd expect

Grease fires happen all too frequently on kitchen stove tops across the world. What you don't know about extinguishing them can cost you dearly.

NEVER put water on a stove top grease fire. The water, being heavier than oil, sinks to the bottom of the pan, where it instantly becomes superheated.

The explosive force of the steam created by the evaporating water blows the burning oil up and out. This can resemble a mini nuclear blast right on your stove top.

The attached 30 second video demonstrates this affect, and the effect is one that will stay with you a long time.

Too many deaths in the news

How does it keep happening? People dying in home fires. How can any homeowner not find $10 for a working smoke alarm? SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES. PERIOD.

And, have a plan for an escape. Practice it. Share it with visitors, especially children spending the night with you. Have a meeting place. Show your guests where that is. It's not silly, people, it's life saving.

My heart breaks when I read another news flash that children, or adults, have perished in yet another house fire. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER take the battery out of your smoke detector.  Change it, don't disarm it. If that doesn't work, replace the detector...they average a life expectancy of about 5-7 years.  Skip the Starbucks for a couple days, and buy a new smoke detector.

Change your smoke detector batteries and test the alarms once a month. Want a reminder, go to Twitter.com...there's a site that offers you a monthly tweet as a reminder. Search smoke alarms.  BE SAFE

Holiday Safety Tips

The holidays bring with them new opportunities for danger...more home fires are reported from candle fires, tree fires, and electrical fires during the winter holiday season than any other time of year. Why? This is when we overload electrical circuits with one too many extension cords; we place candles too close to flammable objects; and we let our fresh evergreens (trees, roping, wreaths and loose greens) get too dry and too near heat sources. Here are some helpful holiday tips to consider:

1. Candle safety: a) Never place burning candles near fabric, like curtains, napkins, tablecloths, etc. b) Never leave a candle burning in an unoccupied room...be sure you extinguish that flame before you retire to another room. c) Watch the candle, keep the wicks trimmed, and blow it out before it can "burn itself out". d) Don't place candles among live greens, never place them in a christmas tree, and use caution around garlands and roping. e) keep buring candles away from children
2. Electrical cautions: 1) don't overload your circuits, avoid using cube taps and other devices that allow you to plug too many items into one outlet. If that outlet feels warm to the touch, you have overloaded it! It is no longer safe. 2) don't plug more than 50 screw in lights into one outlet, and don't plug more than 3 strings of push in lights into the same outlet. 3) use caution outdoors with extension cords...keep them off sidewalks, and away from door entrances where ice, shovels, or snow removal equipment can potentially become entangled. 4) Be sure to unplug your tree and other lights when leaving the home or retiring for the night. It is never safe to leave your decorations illuminated when you are not there to oversee the functioning of these items.
3. Other holiday cautions: a) be careful with fireplaces; never burn dry greens or wrapping paper in your fireplace. The tars and chemicals in these items can damage your chimney. Dispose of these items properly. b) Do not set your dry Christmas tree next to your buildings or structures after discarding it. Take it out to the street and away from the property. This highly flammable object can start a fire in seconds. c) Use caution when preparing holiday meals...don't leave items on the stove to warm for long periods or use your oven to heat NON oven proof items.
4. Take a few moments to document your holiday decorations and how you move and arrange things differently during this holiday season. So many people don't do that and it makes filing any kind of claim very difficult.

Be safe this holiday season, and if you'd like more tips, be sure to consult the book "I Survived a House Fire...I Wish My stuff Had!