Red Cross wants to offer up some tips for patrons to stay safe this holiday season and avoiding any cooking fires.

Cooking is the leading cause of of home fires, injuries from fires, and the second leading cause of home fire deaths. They report that most fires happen in the kitchen especially if  left unattended.

The The American Red Cross of Central and Northern Missouri offered up some cooking safety tips which include: stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food, if you have to leave kitchen while cooking even for a short period of time, shut off the stove, use a timer to remind yourself the stove is on, avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking, keep pets at least three feet away from the cooking area ( ex Hush Puppies), keeping anything that can catch fire away from the stove, clean cooking surfaces regularly to prevent grease build up, always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving home to make sure all ovens and small appliances are turned off.

USE YOUR SMOKE ALARMS!  A smoke alarm installed near your kitchen and on every level, including near each sleeping area.

They also report to test the alarms every month, and replace the batteries at least once a year.

If you need help affording or just installing a smoke alarm in your home Red Cross may be able to help. Red Cross has been installing free smoke alarms to high-risk areas across the country as part of their Red Cross Home Fire campaign.

You can learn more by clicking on this link.
redcross.org/homefires