In The Season Of Cooking, Be Careful: Southington FD

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Kitchen fires, often, are portrayed as humorous situations on sitcoms and popular Walt Disney World attractions.

But the Southington Fire Department is taking a minor kitchen fire it responded two over the holiday weekend as a warning to residents that such incidents, often, don't come out harmless, like the one seen at the end of Disney's Carousel of Progress.

Rather, in the season of cooking, they can evolve into a nasty conflagration, which, thankfully, didn't happened locally Friday.

Over the holiday weekend, the department, even, posted information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on kitchen fire safety measures.

"Members responded to a stove fire last evening," wrote the SFD on social media. "The occupant was able to extinguish the fire prior to FD arrival. However, crews needed to overhaul the area to be sure there was no hidden fire in the walls or ceiling."

One warning the department reiterated from FEMA is the need to keep anything that could catch fire, such as oven mitts, food packages, towels or curtains, away from stoves.

Monday, the SFD posted a similar warning about another common source of fire this time of year: objects that heat the air indoors.

According to the SFD and FEMA, things that can burn should be kept at least 3 feet from fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators or space heaters.

As the mercury plummets, the need to use such devices increases, as does the risk of fire.

For the Southington Fire Department Facebook page, click on this link.