Virginia residential fires often cooking-related

It happens all the time. Someone cooking on the stove or outdoor grill walks away to do something else, or falls asleep, or forgets about the food. And a fire starts.

Cooking was the leading cause of residential fires in Virginia in 2008, according to a new state report that examines fires and responses to them.

Cooking, which includes outdoor grilling, accounted for 31 percent of all residential structure fires, up from 28 percent in 2007, according to the 2009 annual report from the Virginia Department of Fire Programs. Heating-related fires were the next-most-common cause, at 16 percent.

"Cooking is always the leading category as far as the cause of residential structure fires," said Dwight Crews, a fire research analyst with the state.

Capt. Mike Marsala of Norfolk Fire-Rescue suggests that people keep a fire extinguisher at the kitchen exit.

When food or a pan catches fire, the fire can quickly spread.

"Once it hits the cabinets... in three to five minutes you can have a fully involved kitchen," Marsala said.

Baking soda can extinguish a fire, but people often get confused and use flour, which burns, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley of the Virginia Beach Fire Department. Dish soap also suppresses fire, he said.

Riley said people should never carry a burning pot from the kitchen.

"They're carrying this flaming pot of grease and then it splashes on them and of course they either burn their arms or burn their feet or run into somebody else," he said. "Sometimes what people do, they make it bigger by not knowing what to do."

After cooking and home heating, the next leading cause of residential fires in 2008 was an open flame or ember, at about 5 percent. About 4 percent of fires were set or suspicious.

The report showed that in 2008:

• Sixty-four percent of incidents handled by Virginia fire departments were medical or rescue calls. Fires accounted for only about 5 percent of calls.

•  There were 29,392 fires with a total dollar loss of $325 million.

• Civilian injuries totaled 474. Also, 80 people were killed, down from 82 in 2007 and 96 in 2006. Firefighter injuries totaled 335; one firefighter was killed.
• Average response time for paid fire departments was 6.12 minutes; average response time for volunteer departments was 9.95 minutes.

The report is available at www.vafire.com under "Fire Data & Statistics." It includes statistics from most Virginia fire departments, covering about 95 percent of the state's population.

Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com