The Gentry Fire Department has fire-safety information available for the citizens and the public to pick up during normal business hours or on its website: www.gentryfire. org. (Some information is reprinted below.)
If someone needs more information, please stop by and see us. We will be glad to assist you with planning a safe holiday experience. We encourage everyone to have a safe and happy holiday with their family and friends.
Jeff Trammell, assistant chief, Gentry Fire Department
Thanksgiving Day fires in residential structures cause more property damage and claim more lives than residential structure fires on other days. Surprisingly, fire injuries in residences decrease on Thanksgiving Day.
Cooking is by far the leading cause of residential structure fires on Thanksgiving Day (42 percent), nearly double that of a normal day.
The leading factor in the ignition of residential cooking fires is food left unattended.
As with many U.S. holidays, fire incidence increases on Thanksgiving Day. This increase is troubling as it applies mostly to cooking fires in the family home.
Each year, nearly 4,300 fires in the United States occur on Thanksgiving Day, causing 15 fatalities, about 50 injuries, and nearly $27 million in property damage. Of these fires, 1,450 are in residential structures that claim 15 lives, injure 41, and cause an estimated $21 million in damage.
(Source: National Fire Protection Association and National Fire Incident Reporting Systems. Other fire-safety materials are available from the department.)
Opinion, Pages 6 on 11/23/2011