Two recent cooking fires have left homes across the city damaged, says a statement issued by the City of Oshawa.
“Cooking fires are the leading cause of residential structural fires and are often preventable,” said Oshawa Fire Services, reminding residents to take every precaution available to ensure safe cooking is taking place to reduce the risk of fire in their homes.
Residents are reminded that unattended cooking, even for a moment, can have drastic results. Exercise safe cooking practices at all times and follow these safety tips to help prevent a fire in your home:
- Remind everyone to keep the area around your stove free from clutter and to never leave cooking unattended.
- Remind residents that it is the law to have working smoke alarms on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas.
- Carbon monoxide alarms are required by law to be installed outside any sleeping areas.
If your home does not yet have a carbon monoxide alarm, it is time to purchase one. The Ontario Fire Code requires any building that contains a residential occupancy and any building attached to a garage to have a working carbon monoxide alarm in use.
For non-working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, the fine is up to $50,000 for an individual and/or one-year imprisonment.