Get Ready for Fire Prevention Week with NFPA

"Cooking Safety Starts with YOU. Pay attention to fire prevention.™” is the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week™, October 8–14, reinforcing the simple, yet critical actions people can take to reduce their risk of cooking fires and burns. Cooking remains the #1 cause of home fires and injuries, with unattended cooking the leading cause of cooking-related fire deaths. Whether cooking on a stove, in the oven, on a grill, or even with an electric cooking appliance, there are a variety of things people can do to prevent burns and fires from happening. In a modern-day world full of distractions, this year’s theme underscores some simple actions everyone can take, including:

• Watch what you heat and set a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
• Keep kids 3 feet (1 m) from the stove/grill/oven and anywhere hot foods/liquids are being served.
• Turn pot handles towards the back of the stove.
• Always keep a lid nearby; if a small fire starts, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner.

GET READY to bring Fire Prevention Week to your communities—here’s how:

Register today for our free Fire Prevention Week 2023 webinar to learn about the drivers, data, and calls to action behind this year’s theme.  There’s something for everyone in this year’s theme no matter the type of cooking (stoves, grills, electric appliances) or audience (kids, college students, older adults) for fire and life safety, injury prevention, and community educators to engage and connect for cooking safety. The webinar will feature guest speaker Anthony Hamins of the Fire Research Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who will provide insights on cooktop fire ignition and mitigation, and the direction education and technology need to take to help reduce this #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries.

Visit our FPW™ Toolkit Page for a variety of templates, fillable flyers, social media assets, lesson plans, tip sheets, and activities addressing a wide range of audiences and types of cooking fire and burn prevention.  Our materials are available for free download to use and of course aligned with our Educational Messages Desk Reference, which brings together the most up-to-date fire and burn prevention messaging rooted in fire science, standards, behavioral science, and pedagogy.

Now in its 101st year, Fire Prevention Week (FPW) remains the signature initiative from NFPA to connect fire departments, schools, and community education and injury prevention professionals to their communities with life-saving, relevant messages, resources, and programs.  Learn more about the history of FPW and tour our resources at FirePreventionWeek.org.

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