CFAsafety tips on house fires

THE CFA has urged Yarra Valley residents to take care in the kitchen to avoid fire.
One third of Victorian house fires start in the kitchen or the cooking area.
The Check Your Hotspots campaign aims to reduce the incidents of kitchen fires caused by cooking mishaps.
CFA operations officer Chris Jacobsen said leaving cooking unattended even for a few minutes was one of the most common causes of home fires.
In the case of house fires, people’s first instinct was often their worst enemy, he said.
Mr Jacobsen said a cooking fire needs to be smothered because throwing water on the fire could make it worse by spreading the flames and potentially causing scald burns to people nearby.
For more winter fire safety information visit www.checkyourhotspots.com.