A community awareness cartoon with the fire safety message ‘Don’t Drink & Fry’ has won an award at an Irish animation festival. The cartoon highlights the dangers of cooking when drunk and also promotes some essential kitchen fire safety tips.
Developed in partnership with the London Fire Brigade and Fire Angels, Kilogramme Animation have produced an award-winning community film based on the risks of trying to cook food when you’re, to put it bluntly, a little bit drunk.
The animation, officially entitled ‘Should Have Got a Takeaway’, has won the Community Recognition Award at the Blackrock Animation Film Festival 2012, recognised for it’s ‘valuable contribution to society’.
Flee, a loveable little dog with the best of intentions, has also featured in two other fire safety awareness campaigns called ‘Hero?’ and ‘Hot Date’, focusing on the dangers of running into a burning building and using candles respectively.
In 2010-11, a massive 60% of non-fatal fire casualties occurred in kitchens (source: Communities and Local Government – Fire Statistics, Great Britain, 2010-2011). Furthermore, the majority of fires are said to take place between the hours of 10pm and 4am when people typically arrive home after a night out drinking.
Don’t Drink and Fry
On a daily basis, many fires in the UK start in the kitchen when cooking appliances are left unattended. Food can easily burn in frying pans if they aren’t watched carefully and cooking oils and fats can even catch alight if they get too hot.
If you’ve ever come home after a night out a bit worse for wear you’ll know how tempting it is to get the frying pan out and try to cook yourself a bed-time snack but you should really resist this temptation as it can be extremely dangerous to cook food when inebriated. Your judgement will be impaired by the level of alcohol in your system and your ability to use your hand-eye co-ordination will also be reduced.
The solution to this problem is really very simple. Don’t risk an accidental fire in your kitchen – grab a takeaway on the way home, the extra calories are worth the peace of mind!
Some Kitchen Fire Safety Tips
Whether you’re cooking at home during the day or throwing together a quick meal after a night out, the following fire safety tips are always relevant.
- It’s a simple tip but try not to leave the kitchen when you’re cooking! If you need to leave the room take pans off the heat, turn off the grill or switch off the deep fat fryer.
- Keep a clean and tidy kitchen. A build up of grease and food debris on appliances increases the risk of fire. Furthermore, cloths and utensils left near hot hobs and ovens could melt or burn.
- Keep safety equipment handy in case of small kitchen fires. Never throw water on burning fats; instead use a fire blanket or fire extinguisher (note: a yellow label means the extinguisher can be used on burning fats) or a simple damp tea-towel to suffocate the flames. If you’re in any doubt over your ability to put out the fire, call the fire brigade immediately.
- Once you’ve finished cooking turn your appliances off, at the power source if possible. In particular, double check that gas appliances are switched off – gas is a substance that can easily catch fire with a simple spark.
- Install a fire alarm and test it regularly. A heat alarm is recommended for kitchen areas as smoke alarms can often be triggered by everyday cooking fumes and smoke.
By following these kitchen fire safety rules in everyday life you will be more likely to remember them when you’re worse for wear and looking for a quick food fix. It really can’t be stressed enough that cooking when you’ve been drinking is a bad idea and should be avoided in favour of ready-made or cold food.
Discount Fire Supplies is an online retailer of fire alarms and emergency systems designed to protect life and property.
