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Please check you have smoke alarms.
Than check the batteries and test them.
than go to your parents and do theres.
than go to any elderly neigbours and do theres.
And check all electric appliances that they are in working order and comply with all safety regulations. Hot plates, crock pots, urns, heaters, microwaves…
Check all cables to see if they are still in perfect condition.
Make sure you have proper grounding on all appliances AND house wiring.
Look carefully on all appliances to see if they are uL approved. If not, get rid of it! Cheaper products can cost in the long run (including lives ?”?).
Make sure nothing is covering the appliance. Keep all blinds and curtains away from heat conducive products.
Go over emergency plans with your family. Conduct fire drills. Teach children emergency phone numbers and allow them to practice (on toy phones). Act out the call and remind the child to stay calm and listen to instructions.
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SiDi™
Is it safe to leave a hot plate on all Shabbos?
Is it safe to travel in a car? Is it safe to cross the street?
I never thought it was particularly dangerous, but I read that the fire department says it is and that it should not be done.
OTOH, the fire department does not recommend against driving a car or crossing the street despite the dangers in both of them.
My reading of your reply is that a hot plate is in the same danger category as driving or crossing the street and thus can be done routinely (with care – although how much care can be given while asleep?) But apparently the NYC Fire Commissioner disagrees with you.
Unless I have some facts wrong, which may be the case. I *only* raise this question so that we can understand the safety issues with a hot plate and/or blech.
A MUST READ! IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE!
SiDi™
OTOH, the fire department does not recommend against driving a car or crossing the street despite the dangers in both of them.
Do you think the fire department made a study comparing the relative risks of each and determined that hot plates are more dangerous than those?
This fire happened at about midnight. Shabbos was close to 7. So whether hot plates may be left on for all Shabbos or not (we personally use a timer to shut it, but it doesn’t reduce the on time by much, especially wintertime) in this case it was probably on for less than 6 hours. Point is something was most likely defective or set up improperly. I don’t want to speculate here but even something as setting the hot plate at a higher temperature than usual and too close to flammable materials can cause said material to ignite.
Since Pesach is coming up and most of us leave a flame on it’s particularly important to make sure there is adequate ventilation in your kitchen and that the level of your stovetop is above your countertop so that the wood/synthetic material (if it’s not made of stone) doesn’t dry out and overheat. Make sure your cabinets aren’t getting hot as well. Don’t let your blech touch your countertop as it conducts the heat. BROWNING OF WOOD ETC. IS AN EMERGENCY DANGER SIGN! Don’t wait for it though…
Keep the blech on Yom Tov overnight so the flame is covered, but again WITH ADEQUATE VENTILATION to avoid fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. Only one flame max and make sure it’s small. A hotplate is normally above the counter so it poses less of a problem there but it still produces heat. Heat can cause fire! The other issue with hotplates is that they are electric, which means the wires etc. have to be in perfect condition. For a two day Yom Tov a timer is a good idea to give the heat a break, and test it beforehand to ensure the internal thermostat is turning it on and off intermittently.
And remember plastic sink inserts are highly flammable!
Smoke & CO alarms save lives!
Sorry if I was a little repetitive of other posts but some things are worth repeating…
Stay safe everybody.
Mammele, some things are definitely worth repeating and thank you for making very good points.
While we’re discussing safety and kitchens, let’s go over safety in the kitchen with children.
SiDi™
One thing to keep in mind is there are different types of products people use for this purpose. A “hot plate” in my mind is something meant for cooking (which can get really hot), while a “warming tray” is only meant to warm something up or keep something warm. I had one of the latter, which never got above 200 degrees, and it seemed really safe (we used it for three day yom tov with no problem), but they don’t make it anymore. Some things sold for Shabbos use actually get extremely hot, and for that reason alone can be dangerous.
Multiple smoke alarms are essential. Often we hear that after a fire with fatalaties there were no working smake alarms. For A $10 investment you could save a life. If a hot plate, by whatever definition you choose, is left on a fireproof surface with no overhead cabinets or flamables with 2 feet, there should be no danger. This tragedy should serve as a wakeup call to our community.
I saw and heard in a video that children don’t always hear smoke alarms and sleep through it. This thing that happened to them is tragic beyond words
I advertised in Lakewood 20 years ago for a fire safety course. No one was interested. Fire safety is more than just smoke detectors!
Health(!), can you give some pointers in fire safety and general safety?
SiDi™
Unfortunately, that isn’t the way to learn. I’ve given CPR courses and done CPR on pts.
From the Journal of Advanced Nursing –
“The findings of the research reflect similar results to previous research undertaken and discussed in the literature review, suggesting that retention of skills and knowledge quickly deteriorates if not used or updated regularly. Therefore this research supports the importance of CPR refresher courses on a regular basis.”
So if nurses have trouble with retention, for sure laymen will!
OTOH, you can ask specific questions & I’ll try to answer them.
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