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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1987)
Friday, October 9, 1987/The Battalion/Page 7 ire officials warn of dangers of in Thom ’ WORRY, 5.' IT'S A GET >E... “Stupidity is the reason most Ipartment fires start,” said College Station Fire Marshal Harry Davis. “Someone will be cooking and a friend will stop by,” Davis said. Next thing you know they’ve gone iff for a beer, and they leave the tease cooking on the stove. The est way to stop this type of fire is to low down and use common sense.” To help inform the public about lifferent fire prevention measures uring National Fire Prevention Veek, which ends Saturday, the Col- B;ge Station Fire Department will lave a booth set up in Post Oak Mall oday and Saturday, where they will land out fire-prevention literature. Davis said cooking is the No. 1 WANT T® use apartment fires in College nation. Statistics from the State Fire larshal’s office also list cooking as the leading cause of apartment fires in Texas. Dennis Gisseil, an information specialist with the state fire marshal’s office, said that in 1986 there were probably the largest single type of cooking fires. A grease fire usually starts when someone is cooking with a skillet and leaves it unattended, Page said. The “Someone will be cooking and a friend will stop by. Next thing you know they’ve gone off for a beer, and they leave the grease cooking on the stove. The best way to stop this type of fire is to slow down and use common sense. ” — College Station Fire Marshal Harry Davis U$1 ki /fy! .AM 7 /if an Balo as-:.:, JH, JUST ASffi JP mis >uppo udents from AS School, A&M School, Allen Acs School and Stcpk ligh School. Hie a High School!® rseen by Scon a director. ro/n lino evel classed ; nts a way broa 1 ays o f n to every daf 11 t he nie n " 1 they are ' litics of >ry, P 01 j S better^ apa 1,290 of those cooking-related. He said the incendiary-suspicious cat egory ranks second with 707 fires while smoking caused 387. Charles L. Page, division head of the Fire Protection Training Divi sion of the Texas Engineering Ex tension Service, said grease fires are- grease in the pan gets too hot and a fire erupts. He said the problem can be com pounded if the person tries to re move the pan before putting out the fire. “Often they will try to pick up the skillet and take it outside,” Page said. “What happens is the flame is fanned back toward them, and it could catch their clothing on fire. The handle also can become too hot to hold and they drop it on the rug. This could start an even bigger fire. Never pick up a skillet on fire.” Page said that when a grease fire occurs one should turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan. It is better, he said, to use a long-handled fork instead of a hand to place the lid on the pan. If the lid must be placed on the pan without the use of the fork, it is important that the person place the lid on the skillet from the side. “Never put a lid straight down on a skillet,” he said. “This forces the fire to come out around the sides and might burn the wrist or catch clothing on fire.” Putting the lid on from one side will help prevent this, he said. If nothing is available to smother the fire out, Page said baking soda could be used. TEXAS A&M BOOKSTORE’S BOOKFAIR Presents Addison-Wesley Week 20% OFF! Addison-Wesley Titles October 12-16 39 Advanced Technical titles in all fields including: 4 Apple 1 echnical o Benjamin Cummings 0 Lotus Books * special orders included An Addison-Wesley representative will be present. / >4- AT \\Y- V e ■5*6- m Patio Bookshop 845-8681 Store Hours Mon-Fri, 7:45-6:00 p.m. apartment fires Page said many people use flour to extinguish the fire, but he cau tions against this method. He said flour has the potential to catch on fire. Water is another item that should not be used to put out grease fires. Putting water on a grease fire could cause it to splatter and spread. Common sense can also be used to prevent smoking-related fires, he said. The amount of fires caused by smoking rises when alcohol is in volved; when people drink, they get careless with their cigarette, Page said. If an apartment fire does break out, smoke detectors can provide a valuable service by alerting residents at an earlier stage of the fire. Smoke detectors are an item both Page and Davis recommend purchasing. Page said most apartments in Bryan-College Station have either the battery- or household current- powered detectors. Page said the household current units might be better detectors, but he said if the circuit they are on has been shut off, the detectors will not work. For this reason, he said he rec ommends having both types. The cost of a battery-powered unit is under $ 10, Page said. Once a fire starts, response time is ^ increased by people with thoughtless parking habits. Davis said people who park in fire lanes could be towed. During the weekend of the Texas A&M-Louisiana State University football game, 70 tickets were issued to vehicles parked in fire lanes, Davis said, ahd about 20 cars were towed from fire lanes. The fine for parking in a fire lane in College Station is $27. Students need to use common sense to stop fires from happening, Davis said. He also said apartment residents need to remember that ev eryone who lives in an apartment complex depends on everyone else for their safety. 1-800-321-5911 or contact our local Sunchase campus representative or your favorite travel agency Never a dull moment. OPEN SUNDAY 12:30 TO 5:30 & boot's belt f COLLECTION i bv rmm 1 Come try on a pair of boots George Strait himself helped design. They’re handcrafted by Tony Lama for a better fit and greater comfort in an all leather boot. 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